


Moana & Maui: The Fallen Star

by moviefan_92



Category: Moana (2016)
Genre: Abduction, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Adventure, Adventure & Romance, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Attempt at Humor, Awkward Romance, Best Friends, Comedy, Comfort/Angst, Demigods, Demons, Drama, Drama & Romance, Escape, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Gods, Humor, Humorous Ending, Idiots in Love, Kidnapping, Legends, Light Angst, Love, Love Confessions, Magic, Magic-Users, Magical Artifacts, Magical Tattoos, Monsters, Moving Tattoo(s), Mythical Beings & Creatures, Mythology - Freeform, Ocean, Planning Adventures, Romance, Romantic Comedy, Some Humor, Spirits, Stars, Supernatural Elements, Tattoos, True Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-01
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 18:04:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17248919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moviefan_92/pseuds/moviefan_92
Summary: Taking place three years after the first movie. Moana and her people have become voyagers once more. Maui is a frequent visitor, whenever he's not off being a hero. Feelings between the two have developed over the years, however, each for their own reason have kept them to themselves. However, things change when Maui's actions from his past come back to haunt him. Long ago, a star fell from the heavens, and it is under the obligation to grant a wish by someone who Maui greatly wronged long ago. The wish, to take that which Maui loves the most. However, Moana is not willing to go down without a fight, and Maui is determined to correct his past mistake.Adventure/Romance/Fantasy/Supernatural/Drama/Humor/Angst. Pairings: Moana and Maui. Rated for action scenes.STORY COMPLETE





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> (A/N: I'm not exactly sure where the idea for this story came from, but here it is. "Moana" was a great movie, and the ideas have been jumping around in my head ever since I saw it in theaters. Now I've finally gotten around to it. It's going to be a little… strange, I guess you can say. I'm not really sure how to explain it without giving anything away; you'll just have to read to find out. This chapter is a short one since it's only a prologue, but I hope it'll peak your interest.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Originally posted on 05/16/18 - 09/12/18 at: _<https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12938415/1/Moana-Maui-The-Fallen-Star>_**

 

 

**" MOANA & MAUI: The Fallen Star"**

**Prologue**

"There are many beings in this world. Insects, animals, humans, monsters. From the smallest life forms too small to see, to the most powerful of gods. But few know of the beings that watch over us from above. Ranking just beneath the gods in terms of power are the stars, living entities than dwell in the sky. They are wise and powerful beings. They do not interfere with us, they merely watch over us, guiding us with their light.

"But stars are not eternal. They live for hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of years, looking down on us from up above, but eventually, their life will end. But, towards the end of their lives, stars will fall from the sky down to the ground, where they burn out. However, they don't always go out quietly. Sometimes, after a long life of providing us light during the night, they will give us one last gift.

"Stars are not gods, but they do possess a great power. And just before they die, they will share that power with humanity. Should a star be caught when it falls from the sky, the one who catches it may make a single wish. The star will then use the last of its power to grant this wish.

"Be warned though, for stars do not discriminate between a good wish and a wicked one. No matter who it is, no matter the wish, if it is within the star's power, they will grant it. That is why one must be very careful when wishing upon a star.

"Now, listen closely, for I am about to tell you the story of a wish that has yet to be granted. Approximately 800 years ago, a star known as Hika had reached the end of its life. Like all stars before it, he fell from the sky. This star was one of the few that was caught. But he was not caught by a human.

"Centuries before it fell, this star had settled over the island of Te Fiti. After Maui stole the heart of the great mother, Hika kept a careful watch over the island to keep track of the state of things. But eventually his time came, and he fell from the sky, only to be caught by the demon Te Kā.

"Like all stars, Hika was bound to grant the wish of the one who had caught him. But there was only one thing that Te Kā desired, the heart of Te Fiti that had been lost to the sea. Unfortunately, the heart was far too powerful, and Hika did not have the strength to grant Te Kā's wish.

"To once again be denied the heart enraged Te Kā, and so a different wish was made. Since it was because of Maui that Te Kā had not been able to obtain the heart, Te Kā wished for revenge. Should Maui ever escape his island, Hika was to see to it that Maui would have that which he loved the most taken from him.

"Now, this wish was well within Hika's power to grant. However, there was no telling when or if Maui would ever get off his island, and Hika's life was rapidly fading. And so, Te Kā filled Hika with dark energy, warping the star into a creature of darkness. This power would keep Hika alive until the day Maui escaped his island, and Te Kā's wish could be granted.

"Thus, Hika disappeared into the sea, hiding deep in the ocean where he slumbers, waiting for the day Maui escapes. When that time comes, Hika will awaken, and rise up to grant Te Kā's wish. And nothing in this world will be able to stop him from coming for the demigod, and taking that which he loves most."

Ten year old Moana stared at her grandmother with wide eyes as the old woman finished her story. She always enjoyed her grandmother's tales, and was as inquisitive as always. "What does Maui love the most?"

Her grandmother gave her a smile and placed an affectionate hand on the girl's head. "That remains unknown. But Hika will instinctively know what it is due to the conditions of the wish. And may the gods help anyone who stands in his way."

The curtain to her grandmother's hut flapped open as her father walked in. His eyes narrowed in disapproval as he surveyed the scene before him. "More tall tales?"

"A history lesson," her grandmother corrected him gently. "It is important to keep our legends alive."

Tui sighed, rubbing his face in frustration. "Mother, Moana is the future chief of our people. She has much to learn. She doesn't have time to listen to these fairytales."

"Bah, fairytales!" Tala scoffed. She gave Moana a knowing smirk. "This is the problem with today's generation. Just because these amazing and fantastic things no longer happen in this day and age, they think that they never happened at all, so they dismiss them as fantasy."

"They're called myths and legends for a reason, Mother," Tui continued.

She shook her finger at him. "Myths and legends stem from truth. Just because you can't see something does not mean it isn't there."

He sighed in resignation. "Either way, they have no impact on us. We need to focus on what really matters, and that's our island and our people. Come, Moana, you have duties to see to."

The young girl's shoulders sank, but she did not argue. "Yes, Father."

Openly disappointed, she walked out of the hut. Tui glanced at his mother, who simply smiled at him. He shook his head and gave her a disapproving look. "All these stories about gods, monsters, and demigods have to stop, Mother. They're a distraction. It's already difficult enough to get Moana to do her duties with her always trying to run off to the water all the time. I don't need you filling her head with all these old legends."

"Legends are a part of our culture. Just like the stories of our elders that we pass down."

"They have nothing to do with us now. We need to worry about things that actually matter."

Tala waved this off. "Bah! You're always so serious. My stories don't cause any harm."

"No," Tui agreed, "but they provide unnecessary distractions. Moana holds the future of our island in her hands. She doesn't have time for old wives tales. If you want to share your stories, I'm sure there are plenty of other children in the village that would love to hear them."

With that, he turned and walked out of the hut. Tala sighed as she watched him go. It didn't matter if her son didn't believe the old stories, she knew the truth, and she had proof of it too.

Reaching up to her necklace, she opened the shell to reveal a small bright green stone with a spiral-like marking on it. She had been there that day when the ocean had chosen her granddaughter. She had seen it give her the heart of Te Fiti, picking it up after the child had dropped it and had been taken away by her parents.

Moana was different from the others. She had a free spirit, and was not content to a life stuck on this island. She longed for adventure and discovery, and had a love for the ocean even greater than the one her father had once had before losing his best friend to it. She was strong, brave, caring, and loving. It was no wonder the ocean had chosen her to be the one to restore Te Fiti's heart.

One day, she didn't know when, but one day, her precious granddaughter would have to leave the safety of the island, brave the ocean and the darkness spreading across it, find Maui, face down Te Kā, and restore the heart to the great mother. It would be a hard journey, but Tala had the utmost faith in her granddaughter. The ocean couldn't have chosen a better person for the job.

"I'm preparing her as well," she said to the empty room before snapping the shell containing the heart shut. "For what is to come."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I said it was a short one, but it is just a prologue. The following chapters will be longer, and they'll take place after the first movie. Yes, I know this chapter was mostly dialogue from Moana's grandmother telling her a story. I'm not too fond of that writing style, but the rest of the story won't be like that. Did I at least peek your interest? If so, I'll be posting every other Wednesday, so stay tuned for more.)


	2. The Life Of A Wayfinder

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Awesome, I've got some takers. I wasn't sure if this story would attract attention due to... how should I say, the somewhat random plot. But it looks like I've peeked some interests. So then, we've got the first full-length chapter. I should point out though, this story takes place three years after the movie, just to give you an accurate timeline.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 1: The Life Of A Wayfinder**

The sun begun to rise, yet the activity never ceased. Wayfinding needed constant attention to make sure the boats stayed on the correct course. Those that sailed at night switched out for those that sailed during the day, continuing the course through the open ocean.

Among those that rose with the dawn was a young woman of 19. She stepped proudly out onto the deck of her boat, her long curly brown hair blowing out behind her in the breeze. The morning light kissed her tanned skin as the spray of the ocean sprinkled over her.

Taking a deep breath, she breathed in the salty air of the sea and smiled. She had changed over the past three years since she and her people had began voyaging again. All traces of childhood were gone, and she now stood as a beautiful young woman, the demands of being a wayfinder shaping her nicely, giving her an athletic build.

With her coming of age, she had even received tribal tattoos. They ran along the inside and outside of her arms and legs; a design like a ladder going up her legs to her hips and inner things, and a tower of triangles along her arms to her shoulder and armpits, with both her ankles and wrists cuffed with a design that resembled ocean waves.

The ladder design running up her legs was meant to represent what her father had told her about climbing and raising her island, while the triangles on her arms represented travelling from one location to another, just as she and her people went from island to island.

She had two others, these of her own design. A small one on her stomach over her bellybutton, it was the design that had been on the heart of Te Fiti, only about two inches long. Another slightly bigger one was located on her lower back. It was the hook of a certain demigod, though few people knew she even had this one due to its location, and only the man who would be her husband would ever see it fully. She had gotten these last two in order to always feel close to the ones the marks represented.

Feeling something against her leg, she looked down to see her pet potbelly pig, Pua, rubbing against her affectionately. She smiled down at him before looking around for her other, more troublesome pet. It wasn't too hard, she just had to follow the string.

After having walked off the boat one too many times, Moana had tied a string to the leg of her rooster, Heihei. It was long enough to allow him to wander around the boat freely, but short enough to prevent him from falling overboard. Of course, that still left one other problem.

"Oh, Heihei," she sighed upon finder the rooster.

The string was seemingly looped around every possible item on deck. The rooster in question had also somehow managed to tie himself up, the string wrapped around his legs and body. An amused smile spread across Moana's face as she knelt down beside the rooster's side and tried to set him free.

"How'd you do this?" she wondered in bewilderment as she attempted to undo the tangle of knots that seemed to have been impossible to have tied without opposable thumbs.

Finally untangling the rooster, she set him down, and watched as he began aimlessly wandering around. She watched him in amusement before a stream of water sprayed into her face, and she looked out at the ocean. A small wave had risen up, and seemed to be looking at her, even though it lacked eyes or even a face. She gave it a smile and reached out, and the small waved flowed over to her and broke over her hand in a kind of caress.

"Good morning, Ocean," she said, speaking to the deity manifestation of the sea rather than to the actual water its essence inhabited.

The ocean was a good friend of hers as well, and the reason for her tattoos around her ankles and wrists. Even so, it was still an enigma for her. Sometimes there really was no figuring out what the ocean was thinking, or the reason for what it did, but that was really the case for all gods. Still, she trusted the ocean, and did not question its actions, even if she didn't always understand them.

Standing up, her eyes began searching the sky for someone else dear to her. It had been several days since she had last seen him, and she had been hoping he would be back by now. But the skies were clear, except for a few white fluffy clouds floating about. She sighed in disappointment, but chose not to dwell on it, and went to distract herself with her duties.

After getting a reading on their position, she reached into the water to feel the current. Smiling in satisfaction, she went to adjust the sails in accordance for the wind to make the most of it. She waved to the other members of her tribe as they called their greetings to her.

"Good morning, daughter."

She looked down from her place on the mast to see her mother and father up and about. She smiled and hopped down to the deck, wrapping them both in a one-armed hug. "Good morning, Mother, good morning, Father. It's a beautiful day."

Tui smiled as he looked up at the sky. "Yes, a very good day. We should make good time."

They had been at sea for a few days now. Their previous voyage had resulted in the discovery of an island made of two volcanoes resting against each other like lovers. If one listened closely, the combination of the wind blowing between them and the lava boiling inside them almost sounded as if they were singing a song. Moana and her people had named the two volcanoes Uke and Lele, thus making it the island of UkeLele.

As they always did when they discovered a new island, they spent several weeks, sometimes a couple months, making what would eventually become a new village. Once it was decided that the island would make a suitable home, they set out once again while some remained behind to continue building a new village and populating a new tribe.

They ran into inhabited islands with other people too. Like Moana's people, they had also stopped voyaging generations ago as Ta Kā's darkness spread, making the sea too dangerous to sail. But now, with the news that it was safe to travel once again, there were people eager to join Moana's tribe and sail once more. At the same time, some of Moana's people would decide to stay behind with the people on these newly discovered islands, and so friendships and families began expanding from one island to the next.

It wasn't just on the islands that relationships and families grew. There had been marriages and births that had occurred while at sea. If these new families did not want to make a new home when they reached land, a new family boat would be built for them instead so they could stay together.

That wasn't to say that everyone was limited to their family boat the whole time they were at sea. No, they were essentially a traveling village on the sea. The people would visit and interact with each other just as they did on land. New friends would join them on different islands, and old ones would stay behind, but they all viewed each tribe as a single society spread out from island to island. It was a good way of life, and Moana was very happy with it, even if she did have to say goodbye to friends that chose to remain on different islands.

That wasn't to say that they would never see each other again. Occasionally, they would return to previous islands they had been to in order to visit, trade, or check on the growing villages. In fact, just a few months ago, they had gone back to Moana's home island of Motunui. She had been pleased to see that the island had not only completely recovered from the darkness that had begun choking the life out of it, but was also doing better than ever.

Of course, living on the ocean had its own hardships as well. There were storms they had to fight to get through, and they occasionally ran into a rather large sea creature or a monster that wondered if their boats were edible, though they had always been able to fight them off. Two or three times they had even run into the sailing pygmy pirate tribe of Kakamora. Fortunately, they didn't have much worth stealing, and so the coconut-wearing creatures would back off when faced with resistance, opting to steal from other Kakamora, who had far more valuable things worth stealing aboard their vessels.

Still, despite the hardships, Moana loved this way of life. She could see herself doing this forever, even settling down and starting a family on the waves. Her father had still wanted to make her chieftess, and she had taken up the position. Not on an island, but rather out here, in their traveling village on the water.

A splash of water drew her attention, and she looked overboard to find a large manta ray with unique intricate patterns on its back that were most definitely not natural. It swam along side the boat, and Moana's eyes lit up in recognition. This was no normal manta ray; it was her grandmother, Tala, having come back from death years ago. Moana wasn't sure how she had done it, but she knew it was her, having conversed with her grandmother's spirit. She went off on her own to explore the ocean a lot, but she visited frequently. As far as Moana knew, she was the only one her grandmother would speak to, but she acted as a medium for her parents.

She waved to the manta ray, and it waved back at her, doing a small leap out of the water before disappearing beneath the surface. She felt her father come up beside her as she looked into the water. "Was that… her?"

Moana flashed him a smile. "We don't get many other manta rays that come right up to us."

He chuckled. "No, I suppose not." He hesitated. "Did she say anything? Have any more tales about talking to mermaids?"

He was only half-serious, but Tala had told Moana of having met and conversed with merfolk. Moana had never seen a mermaid or merman before, since, according to her grandmother, they were afraid of human, but she completely believed her. After all, having gone to Lalotai, the realm of monsters, and having seen the creatures that lived there, such as the colossal crab Tamatoa, it was very easy to believe her grandmother had met a mermaid.

At least there hadn't been any monster attacks for a long time. With the continuous receding of Te Kā's darkness, the monsters that had once roamed free had sunk back into the shadows. It was still a chilling thought to think about what would have happened had she not returned the heart of Te Fiti. But anyone with half a brain should have realized that taking the heart of a goddess of creation and life would have serious negative effects, the least of all reducing Te Fiti to the fire demon Te Kā.

Her thoughts drifted to the demigod who had committed such a blasphemous act. Even if it had been done with good intentions, it didn't make it any less foolish. And now he was making up for it, flying around the world and fighting the monsters that were still lurking around out in the few open areas where Te Kā's darkness had not yet receded.

He always came back though, always with new stories of his great deeds. The last time, he told them of how he fought off the tag-team duo of creatures called a kraken and a leviathan. Her people ate up his stories every time, staring at him with open admiration.

Moana smiled and shook his head. Maui really loved the attention. He was arrogant, stuck up, neurotic, totally full of himself, but completely loveable. She supposed he had the right to be cocky though after everything he had done in his… How many years had he lived? At least a thousand, but she suspected it was much, much longer. Unfortunately, after having disappeared for a millennium, his last act being stealing Te Fiti's heart, his reputation had suffered greatly.

She too had had a negative opinion about the demigod. That is, until she actually met him, and found out what a great person he was. He'd charmed her instantly, and she warmed up to him very quickly… until he had sealed her in a cave and tried to make off with her boat. He'd made up for it later though, insisting that he had been planning on going back for her once he had retrieved his magic hook that allowed him to shape-shift into any animal.

His favorite transformation was that of a giant hawk, and her eyes scanned the sky once more for any sign of him. He would stand out from other hawks due to the hook-shaped mark on one of his wings, due to his hook being magically stored away she supposed. That made her wonder, were his clothes also magically stored in such a way? She had seen other strange markings on his animal forms, but they could have just been his magic tattoos carrying over. She wasn't sure how it worked.

Maui certainly did have a lot of tattoos though. They magically appeared when he earned them by performing great deeds, or when essential moments in his life occurred. One of them was even sentient, capable of thinking and moving around on his body, even interact with the other tattoos. He called it Mini-Maui, and the little guy was normally on his chest as part of the scene where he would hold up the sky, though he would switch his consciousness over to the different Mini-Maui tattoos on his body.

She chuckled at the thought of what would happen when he ran out of room. Would they overlap, shrink in size to make room for new ones, or maybe some of his lesser or older deeds would disappear to make room for more? She was sure he wouldn't mind being rid of the one where he was defeated by Te Kā, or the one of his parents throwing his infant self into the sea. Or maybe not, as they were a part of his history, no matter how tragic.

She just couldn't wrap her mind around how any parents could possibly throw away their child. Children were a wonderful gift to be loved and treasured. How Maui's parents could actually toss their child into the sea was beyond her. It wasn't any wonder why Maui would crave love from everyone after being rejected so completely by his own parents, who should have loved him more than anything. It was the whole reason why he stole the heart of Te Fiti in the first place, so he could give it to the mortals to grant them the power of creation, so they would love him.

' _Poor Maui,'_  she thought sadly. He was looking for love the wrong way. That type of love wasn't pure or true. It was a love born from gratitude and admiration. That was why it didn't last, and why he always found himself having to do more in order to have the mortals keep on loving him. They didn't love  _him_ , they loved Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, hero to all. Love of that kind didn't last, no matter how many deeds he did, or how many tattoos he earned.

A blush stained her cheeks as she remembered that she was one of those tattoos. After restoring the heart of Te Fiti, the image of her on a boat appeared next to Mini-Maui on his chest. It wasn't sentient like Mini-Maui, but simply being there at all was flattering, though embarrassing. She turned as red as a tomato every time he pointed that one out while showing off his tattoos.

She shook her head and looked at the sky again as she absentmindedly began humming his catchy song of _You're Welcome_. Would he add a new verse that included her in it? That would be mortifying. She may have gotten used to being in the spotlight, what with saving the world and everything, but that was a little  _too_  in the spotlight for her taste.

"He'll come back," her father told her, bringing her out of her thoughts. "He always does."

Moana turned to her parents, feeling embarrassed at having been caught looking at the sky for a reason that had nothing to do with wayfinding. "What? Huh? Who?"

Her parents just looked at her with hooded eyes and pursed lips, the same look Te Fiti had given Maui before he had admitted he had made a mistake in stealing her heart. What was it about  _that_  look that always seemed to make people break? Especially when a parent used it on their child.

"Oh, you mean Maui?" she asked with a chuckle, feigning ignorance. "Nah, I wasn't thinking about him."

The look continued. She grinned at them before turning away, only to find Pua giving her the same look; how did a pig do that? At least Heihei wasn't looking at her like that, though that could have been because he had chameleon-like googly-eyes that always seemed to be looking in different directions.

Pretending not to notice the looks, she went about her duties. This included hopping onto different boats and checking on things, no different than she would on land. Some of the boats were large enough that they even had small farms, consisting of gardens and animals. They'd gathered a variety of new and exotic foods from different islands since they had begun wayfinding once more.

And it wasn't just foods. The different civilizations had developed many different things; tools, clothing, jewelry, weapons, medicines, animals, and more. There were always new things to learn and discover, and Moana loved every moment of it.

Hopping onto another boat, she saw that a group of people were struggling to pull in a net loaded with fish. She went over to help, grabbing hold of the netting and giving it a yank. Together, they pulled in the net, the fish spilling out onto the deck. She was thanked for her assistance as they began sorting out the fish.

Moana was fully aware of the looks she was receiving, ranging from silent respect to open admiration. It was something she had gotten used to over the years, and she no longer felt all that bashful when she was praised. She couldn't help but think how Maui would have eaten up the attention had he been in her place.

That wasn't to say that  _everyone_  respected and admired her. On a few of the islands they had travelled to, the residents had low opinions of women, thinking them beneath men, and that they had no right to lead, or even be on the water at all. This had been quite shocking to Moana and the people of Motunui. On their island, men and women were equals, and they had made it clear right away that those that believed that men were better than women had better change their thinking very quickly and begin treating men and women as equals if they wanted any part of their growing 'community'.

Learning of the things Moana had done over the years had been a big help in changing these people's view, but it was clear that there were still those that looked down on her and the other women. Well, Moana was determined to change their minds. At least they were being respectful and keeping their sexist opinions to themselves. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start.

In some cases, however, the people of these different islands seemed to like her a little  _too_  much. More than once she had been proposed to on the spot. It was usually by someone who held power on their island, like the son of a chief, seeking a political marriage. Moana had known this would be coming. She was the daughter of the chief of Motunui, and the chieftess of the traveling wayfinder colony. The fact that she had saved the world and had allowed mortals to begin sailing once more was a major bonus.

She'd shot down their marriage proposals quickly, making it very clear that she would not get involved with a political marriage, nor would she be some trophy wife. And while that usually put a stop to such proposals, there were a few men who seemed genuinely interested in her and appeared to be entertaining the idea of courting her. Unfortunately for them, whenever Maui came around, he was very protective of her, and he had frightened off anyone he considered unworthy of her. In fact, there had only been two that he had consider as 'passable', the first being "Ok, I guess…" and the other being "Not so bad, I suppose…"

Moana had found his protectiveness to be sweet, but nothing had ever come from the two boys; she'd just hadn't been interested in them. It also probably didn't help that she was almost always with the demigod whenever he was around, which was quite often. Even during the times when he was away, none of the boys attempted to court her after he initially scared them off.

Her parents expressed a little concern over this, but Moana had eased their worries. If there was someone she herself was interested in, then  _she_  would pursue  _them_ , and she knew Maui would respect her wishes and not interfere, despite his protectiveness. But, truth be told, she didn't mind that her so-called suitors were afraid of the demigod; it got rid of the burden of dealing with all these annoying, unwanted courtships. Besides, she liked the idea of him looking out for her, even though she was more than capable of taking care of herself.

She once again turned her gaze to the sky, looking for the giant hawk. She frowned slightly, wondering where he was. He never stayed away for more than a few days. Then he would stay for about a week before flying off again to search for more monsters. And when he returned, he would share his stories of the beasts he had chased back into the darkness.

But things had been changing. It had started out slow, but had begun happening more and more often over the years, especially in the past several months. Maui would return with no new stories, claiming he hadn't run into any problems. Monster sightings were becoming more and more rare. It seemed that with Te Fiti restored, the vicious beasts were crawling back into the holes they had crawled out of 1,000 years ago when Maui stole her heart, and the darkness of Te Kā had begun to spread.

Truth be told, Moana was kind of glad to know that Maui wasn't running into monsters that often. She knew how powerful he was, but thinking about him fighting such ferocious creatures was still worrisome. Though she had faith, the thought of losing him terrified her. She kept hoping that one day he would declare that there were no more monsters to fight, and he would stay with them permanently. He already spent pretty much all his time with them anyway when he wasn't off searching for monsters to fight. He even had his own hut, though it was mostly only used for sleeping.

"Chieftess! Chieftess!"

She was brought out of her thoughts as someone who had recently joined their colony at one of the latest islands they had come across came running up to her. "Yes, what's the problem?"

He pointed. "I think you should take a look at this."

The worry in his voice was apparent, so she followed him without question. Hopping from one boat to another, they made their way to the other side of the community. When they reached the boats on the end, the man pointed to something in the distance. From the looks of it, it was a large cloud of mist.

One of the tribe members handed her a hollowed out tube of wood with a crystal stuck in the end. Looking through the tube, the crystal on the end made objects in the distance look much closer than they appeared. It allowed her to see things far away, though they always looked distorted.

The cloud of mist was still far away, but it was getting closer. It wasn't the mist itself that was concerning, but what could be on the inside. Of course, it was always possible that it was just a natural sea mist, but based on how nice a day it was, and that the cloud of mist was only in one area, that was most likely not the case.

Moana only knew of one manner of creature that created a mist to cloak itself as it moved in on its prey. She could see them now. Despite still being far away and hidden in the mist, she could make out their silhouettes.

"It is," she muttered, lowering the makeshift telescope. "Kakamora."

"It looks like they're heading this way," one of her companions noted.

She nodded. They were definitely heading towards them. Despite not having much worth stealing, it seemed as if the little coconut-wearing pirates were targeting their colony. Maybe they were after their resources instead, food and other supplies were useful to pirates too.

"Spread the word," she ordered. "Tell our warriors to prepare for battle."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: And there it is, the first actual chapter of my story. We got to see what Moana's life is like a few years down the line. It seems she's doing good for herself. Well, up until the end there. Life at sea does have it's own dangers, and it looks like this one is in the form of some Kakamora. How will she deal with this? Stay tuned to find out.)


	3. Sea Wars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Yes, yes, the chapter name is a pun on "Star Wars", BUT, we're gonna get a "Mad Max/Waterworld" theme for this chapter. You'll see what I mean. This one was a lot of fun to write, but also very difficult. Battle scenes can sometimes come very easily, but other times be pretty difficult. Let me know how I did.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 2: Sea Wars**

The three giant ships loomed over the much smaller boats. Far bigger and far more sophisticated, the Kakamora's ships were connected into one massive vessel. The Kakamora were all over it, wielding weapons and wearing war paint. They babbled in their strange language as they approached, looking ready for battle. Having lived all their lives on the ocean for generations, there would be no outrunning the much grander ships.

Moana's own warriors were ready to fight as well. Wielding spears, blow-darts, and bows and arrows, they had gathered on the boats closest to the approaching Kakamora while he children and elderly moved to the boats farthest away. But the Kakamora's three ships had suddenly detached from each other, the two smaller ones moving around the colony to box them in.

Moana stood side by side with her father and the other warriors, wielding a spear. She was ready for a fight, willing to do anything to protect her people. Her gaze shifted to the water, but she knew that the ocean would not be able to help. There were divine rules the ocean needed to follow, including when and how it was able to offer assistance. Moana didn't understand any of it, nor did Maui from what he'd told her; demigods tended to follow their own rules.

Returning her attention to the approaching Kakamora, her grip on her spear tightened. "Get ready, here they come."

Arrows began flying from the Kakamora. Ropes were attached to the ends, and when they buried into the smaller boats, the Kakamora were provided with a bridge. They slid down the lengths of the ropes and onto the smaller boats, and began swarming.

Poison darts flew from the Kakamora, but the warriors raised their shields to block themselves and their comrades. The Kakamora attacked the shield bearers with knives and spears while the warriors knocked them away. Moana did her part, running and jumping from boat to boat as she knocked the Kakamora away with her spear. A shower of poison darts flew at her, but a shield bearer was quick to defend her, and she ducked behind the shield.

"Archers, fire at the attackers!" she commanded.

The archers gathered, taking aim. They fired upon the Kakamora, but the arrows did little more than knock over or stun the pirates thanks to the coconuts they wore.

A Kakamora climbed over the shield Moana was ducking behind. It leapt at the shield bearer, ready to bring its tomahawk down on his head. Moana swung her spear, knocking it away. More began climbing over, and Moana knew there were several more right behind them.

"Push," she ordered the shield bearer. He gave her a confused look, and she repeated the command. "Push!"

The shield bearer did as he was told, charging forward. The Kakamora were pushed back, splashing into the water. Several arrows with ropes attached buried into the shield, and the Kakamora began sliding down to them. Moana immediately hopped up onto the shield, balancing on the thin top, and swiped her spear, slicing through the ropes, and the Kakamora fell into the ocean before they even reached the boat.

Moana turned her attention to the boats. The warriors were doing well knocking the Kakamora away, but more kept coming, sliding down the ropes. They needed to stop the pirates from getting into their boats before they could clear them out. "Cut the ropes! Don't let them get onboard!"

"You heard my daughter!" Tui cried. "Cut the ropes!"

The warriors set to work right away, cutting the ropes and plucking the arrows. The shield bearers blocked the arrows and poisoned darts that were fired at them, but the Kakamora that were already on the boats were making it difficult.

"Slings!" Moana shouted.

With their rock and shell supply, the warriors began flinging their ammo at the Kakamora sliding down the ropes. They were making progress now, but with every rope they cut and every Kakamora they knocked off, another roped arrow stabbed into a boat, allowing more of the little pirates to come sliding down. They needed to put distance between themselves and the Kakamora's ships.

Moana's eyes scanned the three giant vessels. They may have been bigger and faster than their smaller boats, but they still relied on the same thing for speed. "Target their sails! Flaming arrows!"

Torches were retrieved, as were jars of oil and other flammable substances. The warriors dipped their arrows in the liquids, then lit them in the fires. Taking aim, they fired upon the sails of the Kakamora's largest ship. Chaos ensued as the little pirates scrambled about to try and put out their flaming sails. As holes grew larger from the spreading flames, the ship began losing speed.

"Good call, daughter," Tui congratulated her proudly.

Moana beamed as she watched the largest ship start to fall behind. That's when she noticed something that made her blood run cold. One of the Kakamora's ships, the smallest and fastest one, had pulled ahead, moving around her people's colony of boats. The Kakamora shot more arrows, but not at the boats, rather at the larger ship that was falling behind. With the two ships now connected, as the larger fell behind, the ropes between them were pulled tight.

"No," Moana whispered, watching as the ropes between them pressed against the masts of her people's boats. Masts snapped and boats were tipped over, the largest Kakamora's ship falling behind causing the ropes to pull against the colony's boats.

"We have to cut those lines," said Moana.

"Get down!" her father cried, tackling her to the ground as a rope was pulled against their own boat, and the mast broke, almost falling on them.

Moana stood up, and, wielding her spear, jumped up and swung at the rope. It took four strikes before the rope finally snapped. But they would never be able to cut them all before all their boats were knocked over. These Kakamora were very strategic and crafty.

"Dad, give me a boost," she told him.

He gave her a questioning look. "What are you going to do?"

"Just do it."

There was no time for questions, so he cupped his hands together, allowing his daughter to step onto them so he could lift her into the air. Moana grabbed onto one of the ropes and hoisted herself up. She used the various ropes like a ladder to climb up, then whipped out a knife and began cutting them. She cut three before she noticed several Kakamora sloth-climbing along the length of the ropes towards her. She cut the ropes that had the Kakamora closest to her, but soon realized that she wouldn't make it in time before they reached her.

A loud  _caw_  echoed through the air, and several heads looked up. Flying overhead, a giant hawk flew towards the battle, the mark of a hook on one of its wings. Moana's face lit up at the sight of the large bird. "Maui!"

The hawk flew towards the ropes connecting the Kakamora ships. Moana knew what was going to happen before it did, and jumped down. Maui changed back to his human form and swung his hook, catching and severing the ropes before turning into a hawk again. The two ships rocked violently from the loss of connection as Maui doubled back to the largest ship. He changed back and fourth from man to hawk as he struck the sails and masts, causing them to topple over, completely removing the Kakamora's ability to use the wind.

Satisfied with the work he had done on the first ship, Maui soared to the second. The Kakamora had turned their arrows and darts on him, but Maui expertly maneuvered around them, changing into a smaller bird or even an insect to avoid them when he needed to. Flying directly over the ship, he suddenly transformed into a blue whale and dropped down. The entire structure completely crumbled under his weight, splitting the entire ship in two as he crashed through it.

Only one ship remained. The Kakamora had stopped worrying about plundering and were now focusing on Maui. It allowed Moana and the warriors to easily remove the little pirates from their boats. The Kakamora began to realize that they were outmatched and began abandoning the boats, heading back to the remaining undamaged ship and the semi-destroyed one.

Something large moved beneath the surface, swimming beneath the boats and heading for the undamaged Kakamora ship. A few moments later, the large tentacles of a giant squid slithered out of the water and began creeping over the ship. Markings very similar to Maui's tattoos decorated the tentacles as they latched onto the ship. Slowly, it was dragged down until the entire vessel disappeared beneath the ocean. The Kakamora and various floating parts of the ship bobbed to the surface, and they began swimming towards the semi-destroyed ship.

By now, Moana and her people had put sufficient distance between themselves and the Kakamora. The boats that had had their masts destroyed were tied to those that were still intact to help pull them along, while they struggled to flip over the boats that had been flipped over or turned on their sides. Maui helped out with that as well, using his giant squid form to right the boats.

Overall, only 11 ships had been damaged, and only two of them were unsalvageable, sinking into the dark abyss. Fortunately, they had been simple sailing boats, no different than the one Moana had set out to find Maui in years ago. The larger more important boats and the house boats were always in the center of the colony, surrounded by the smaller less important ones.

Injuries weren't too bad, some cuts and scrapes mostly, and a few warriors whose bodies had gone numb from the poisoned darts. A couple had been hit by arrows, but, fortunately, the Kakamora's arrows were small since they couldn't use regular sized arrows due to their height and build. The warriors who had been wounded were immediately sent to the healers, where they would be treated.

Moana was amongst them, not as a patient, but as a proud chieftess checking in and congratulating her warriors for their bravery and heroism.

"You all did very well today," she told them. "You fought bravely and proved you are honorable warriors. I am very proud of all of you."

A hand fell on her shoulder, and she turned to see her father absolutely glowing with pride. "And I am very proud of you, my daughter. You acted as a leader should, leading your people into battle."

She felt herself blush slightly and brushed her hair back bashfully. "I just did what was necessary."

His smile grew larger, if that was possible. "I can never say it enough times; this suits you. You're a natural leader."

She returned the smile. "I had a good teacher."

Their moment was interrupted as her mother suddenly arrived, throwing herself into Tui's arms. Reaching out, she wrapped an arm around Moana, pulling her into the hug as well. "Thank the gods you're alright."

A light chuckle escaped Tui as he returned the hug. "The situation was in good hands," he said, giving Moana a proud look.

"These Kakamora were different from the others we've seen," said one of the warriors, whose arm lay limp at his side, numb from a poisoned dart. "They were smarter and more aggressive."

Breaking the hug, Moana turned to him and nodded in acknowledgement. "Yes, they were. We will take greater precautions in the future. An attack like this will not happen again."

"It never should have happened at all!" another warrior snapped. Moana recognized this one as one of the more recent recruits from one of the islands where they had a low opinion of women. "This just goes to show that a woman is incapable of being a leader."

Tui glared at the warrior. "My daughter acted honorably and fought just as well as any man. Her leadership skills were on par with even the greatest of warlords with years of experience."

"Her leadership almost got us killed," the warrior argued back. "It was Maui, a  _man,_  who saved us in the end."

Tui crossed his arms. "I think that had less to do with him being a man and more to do with him being a shape-shifting demigod."

"Say what you want, the fact remains that if it were not for Maui appearing, then we-"

Something suddenly burst up from the water. It was a larger than average dolphin flipping through the air as it soared over the boat. It transformed into Maui, and he landed on the boat, striking a pose as he declared, "It's Maui time!"

Moana's face lit up upon seeing him. He was exactly the same as when she first saw him. Very tall, and so heavily muscles that he almost looked overweight from certain angles. Long curly brown hair hung about his shoulders, almost making him look like a lion. Tattoos of his numerous deeds covered his entire body, including the sentient Mini-Maui. His only clothing consisted of a grass skirt and a necklace of bones. And, like always, he wore than annoyingly adorable arrogant smirk on his face.

In his hand he held a giant hook made of bone that was covered in various markings. It was this magic hook, made by the gods themselves, that gave him the ability to shape-shift. Despite it being about half the size of his body, he wielded it like it weighed nothing.

"Maui!" she cried happily, and rushed to him.

He dropped his pose and smiled at her. She held her arms out to hug him, but instead he scooped her up and placed her on his shoulder. "Hey, kid. You miss me? Scratch that, I know you did. Did you get taller too?"

She balanced herself on his shoulder, even though she knew he wouldn't let her fall. "You were gone a while."

"Just two weeks."

"Fifteen days."

He chuckled as he set her down. "Aww, kid, we're you going through Maui-withdraw?"

She playfully hit him. "My name's not kid."

He gave a snort of laughter. "Sweetheart, I've lived for thousands of years. Compared to me, she's a kid." He nodded at an elderly healer who looked to be in her eighties. "To be fair though, you've definitely grown up from being a kid. I saw you out there before I swooped in to save the day. You were doing great against the Kakamora. I haven't seen great leadership like that all that often."

Tui and Sina flashed the warrior who had insulted Moana a smug look, and the warrior stubbornly humphed and looked away. Moana paid him no mind as she unconsciously brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Thanks, but we still owe you for taking them down."

"Of course," he declared proudly. "I'm Maui! Demigod of the wind and sea, savior of men and women."

Moana rolled her eyes. There it was, that likable, annoying arrogance of his. How someone could be so full of himself and still be so lovable was beyond her, but he was. And the people loved him too. Upon declaring his title, all the warriors began chanting his name. And he was eating up the attention. Even Mini-Maui was waving and striking posses as tattoos of people cheered for him.

Smirking, Moana crossed her arms and shook her head, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Welcome back, Maui."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

_"So what can I say except 'you're welcome', for the islands I pulled from the sea. There's no need to pray, it's ok, you're welcome. I guess it's just my way of being me."_

Moana chuckled as she watched Maui march along, waving his hook in the air. Behind him, a line of children followed him, waving sticks around in imitation of the demigod, letting out cries of "You're welcome" as they paraded across the boats, hopping from one to the other. The children all adored him, and Maui dotted on them whenever he was around. It was very sweet to see him interact with them.

Their little parade came to an end as Maui jumped to another boat, but lost his footing and splashed into the ocean. The children all hurried to the side and looked into the water, but with the sun down, it was impossible to see more than a couple of inches into the dark water.

There was a splash next to the boat as Maui leapt back up on deck. His head was that of a great white shark, and he roared at the children. They jumped back, startled, as Maui raised his arms over his head and wiggled his fingers. " _Rarrr!_  Shark head."

He changed back to normal, smirking playfully. The children exchanged mischievous smirks before jumping to their feet and raising their sticks. "Get him!"

They tackled the demigod. He went down willingly and began thrashing about as if in pain as the children crawled all over him, screaming and laughing. "Oh no! Oh, help! The great Maui has been taken down! He's no match for the mighty wayfinding warriors!"

The wayfinding warriors, Moana kind of liked the sound of that. Leave it up to Maui to come up with something like that. She watched as the children "attacked" the demigod in amusement, but when one of them began pulling on his hair and bonking him over the head with their stick, she had to intervene. She knew the child wasn't hurting Maui, but she couldn't condone that type of roughhousing.

"Ok, mighty warriors," she said, speaking in a playful yet stern tone, "that's enough; the mighty Maui has been vanquished."

Laughing, the children scattered, most returning to their parents. Maui sat up and waved goodbye to them. "Well played, fearless warriors. Well played."

Smiling, Moana sat down beside him. "You're so good with them."

"Yeah, they're good kids. You set a good example for them."

She gave him a teasing look. "As opposed to you."

"What? I'm Maui. I'm the best example there is. Right, little buddy?" Mini-Maui wobbled his hand in a 'sort of' gesture. Maui scowled and flicked the little tattoo, sending him flying to a section on his back. "Yeah, well, who asked you?"

Moana chuckled. "So, how long are you planning on staying this time?"

Maui shrugged. "Eh, I don't know. Truth be told, the reason I was gone so long was because I couldn't find anyone who needed any demigod-ing, so I just kept searching."

She raised an eyebrow. "Really? No poor helpless victim needed saving? No big bad monster that needed to be vanquished. No fabulous world-changing event that only the great Maui could perform?"

"Not too many monsters around anymore," the demigod admitted. "I saw a megalodon once, but that's not a monster, just a really big shark that, like, never comes to the surface." He sighed. "Ever sine Te Fiti was restored, all the monsters have sunk back into the shadows. Then again, they would have whether I had fought them or not; I just sped up the process of driving them away. Now it looks like they're all gone."

Moana considered this. She knew that Maui had spent his first thousand years shaping portions of the world, pulling islands from the sea, positioning the sun, raising the sky, the ground, and everything else he liked to brag about. After he had been stranded on his island on his island for 1,000 years, the darkness that had spread from Te Fiti losing her heart had allowed all the monsters to come crawling out, providing Maui with a lot of opponents to face after she had rescued him. But now that the monsters had withdrawn, what was there left for the hero of men and women to do?

"You know, the offer still stands," she told him. "You can always stay with us. Who knows, we might run into some more Kakamora and need some demigod intervention."

A smirk crossed his face. "Ah, you were doing fine against them. I know you would have figured it out and come out on top. I only stepped in so no one would get hurt."

He was trying to change the topic, but she let it go. "Except for the Kakamora you mean."

"Murdering little pirates. I should have sank their remaining ship and forced them to float to land."

"Yeah, but you're not that cruel."

He gave her a teasing look. "Careful, princess, I can be pretty bad."

She playfully punched his arm; it was like hitting a rock wall. "Don't call me princess."

"I know, I know," he said with a chuckle. "You're a chieftess." He looked at the people as they interacted with each other. "And a good one at that."

Moana looked at where he was looking. He seemed to be focusing on different families, the children in particular. She glanced back at the demigod and saw that, even though he was smiling, there was what could only be described as a look of longing on his face. She wasn't surprised. He'd never had a family of his own; his own parents having abandoned him as a baby.

This brought up a series of thoughts she didn't like to think about, but often wondered of. Maui had lived a long time, a  _very_  long time. He'd had a whole life before her, before he'd been stuck on an island for 1,000 years. True, there were stories and songs about him, but there were generally about the great deeds he'd done over the years, not so much on his personal life. And even though they had gotten to know each other over the years, he never spoke of whether or not he ever had a family, or if he even wanted one.

"Did you ever…?" she began, choosing her words carefully. "Did you ever have any kids?"

He gave her a surprised look. "What? Me?"

She shrugged, trying to play it off with a laugh. "Well, you are thousands of years old. And you're the great Maui. I'm sure there were women throwing themselves at you." The words left a bitter taste in her mouth, but at the look of shock on the demigod's face, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not a little girl, Maui. I know all about the eel and the cave, or whatever analogy you want to use."

He shifted uncomfortably. "No, no, I'm sure you do. It's just, your question caught me off guard."

She nodded at the children. "Well, I see how good you are with the kids. I think you'd make a wonderful father. And with the way you were looking at them, I was wondering if you ever were one at some point." Now she was feeling uncomfortable. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

He shook his head. "No, it's fine. Like I said, I just wasn't expecting the question." He looked back at the families, now with a look that could only be described as regret. "To answer your question, no, I never had any kids. I was always very careful about that." He sighed deeply. "It's strongly… advised for demigods not to reproduce. For their own sake."

She frowned, not understanding. "Why not?"

He sighed again. "I told you before that I was made a demigod, not born. Natural demigods are born as a result of a god or goddess copulating with a mortal. Two demigods copulating will result in another demigod, but a demigod and a mortal will result in another mortal. A stronger, faster, extraordinary mortal, but a mortal all the same. They live like mortals, and they… die… like mortals…"

Moana felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her as she caught his meaning. Demigods stopped aging once they reached their prime. Unless they were killed, they would live forever. Mortals died though, and that would include the mortal offspring of demigods. She couldn't comprehend how heartbreaking that must be to go through. No parent should ever outlive their children, no parent.

"It's even discouraged for demigods to befriend mortal, or make any kind of connection with them for the same reason, let alone have families with them," Maui continued. "There have been some demigods that have gone mad with grief, others that have even taken their own lives just to be with their loved ones again, just because the pain becomes more than they can bare. That's why you don't see demigods that often, because they choose not to interact with mortals, so they don't form attachments."

She placed her hand on top of his. "I'm sorry."

He was silent for a moment, then forced a big smile on his face. "Well, it's like I said, I never had a family. The only family I've got are the gods."

Moana was tempted to say that she and her people could be his family, but didn't know how he would react to it. She'd never thought how his status as a demigod could be a barrier between him and something everyone deserved to have. Truth be told, a part of her had been glad when he told her that he never fathered any children, but now another part of her felt sorry for him that he never could, not unless he wanted to experience the pain of losing them one day. She didn't think she'd be able to survive the death of her children, let alone her entire family for every generation that followed.

"By the way," said Maui, interrupting her thoughts, "I never asked where you're going. You revisiting another island, or seeking out a new one?"

This time she was glad for his attempt to change the topic to a less depressing one. "We're mapping out a new area by using the stars, just like you taught me."

"That's my girl," Maui told her proudly, and Moana suddenly felt warm and fuzzy on the inside. She knew he hadn't meant anything by it when he called her 'my girl', but she had still liked hearing it.

"And remember," he continued, "if you ever lose your way, just keep an eye out for old Polaris. He always shows where North is."

Moana was very much aware of this, and her gaze landed on the North Star. "I know, Maui, it's one of the most basic traveling strategies." She pointed. "See, it's right there."

Maui nodded. "Yup, brightest star around. Excluding the sun. Did you know I actually met him a few times?"

She gave him a skeptical look. "You met Polaris?"

"Oh, yeah. Me and Northy, we go way back. Nice guy, but a bit of a stickler. All stars are." He pointed at another bright star. "Except for her. Evangeline. Really sweet girl, but a bit of a dreamer. She said she's waiting to meet her true love, and when she does, she will carry him into the sky to join her in the heavens. Sounds silly, doesn't it?"

Moana shook her head. "No, it sounds romantic."

Maui rolled his eyes. "Of course you'd think that. What's up with girls and romance?"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting true love." She nudged him playfully. "You just have no sense of romance."

"I resent that!"

She chuckled. "Don't worry, you do have your good points too."

"Of course, I'm Maui."

"Something you never stop reminding us."

She stifled a yawn. Maui had to admit, she did look tired. After the battle with the Kakamora, she had spent the day acting as the leader she was, even taking part in the repairs and organization of supplies. And she still had her regular duties on top of that. She really was an amazing woman.

"You gonna hit the hay?" he asked.

She rubbed her eyes. "But I still have thing to-"

"Kid, a leader needs to be at their best, and that includes getting enough sleep. Your determination and sense of duty is admirable, but you've got to prioritize things. You had a busy day, you took care of the things that really needed to get done, now you should rest up so you're fresh for tomorrow."

She recognized that he wasn't trying to baby her; he was just looking out for her wellbeing. Most of the community, with the exception of the nightshift, had already gone to bed anyway. Even the parents of the children Maui had been playing with were now trying to get their kids inside as well.

Moana was stubborn, but she had to admit that he was right. She was exhausted, and a leader needed to keep their wits about them and always be on top of things. It was best to call it a night. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

She stood up and kissed his cheek. It wasn't the first time she had done that, but it still made the demigod's eyes widen in surprise. But as she walked to her hut, she glanced back at him. "You'll still be here tomorrow, right?"

He smirked at her. "Kid, I just got back. You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Whatever you say. Oh, and Maui, my name's not 'kid', it's Moana."

She hopped onto her boat and headed inside her hut, the curtain swinging shut behind her. Once she was gone, Maui's hand came up to press against his cheek where she had kissed him. "No, definitely not a kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Maui's back. Yay! He's a lot of fun to write. I really wanted to explore his backstory a bit, and I sort of realized that he's hiding a lot more under the surface than what we usually see. It could even be part of the reason he is the way he is, to cover up some of the more painful aspects of his life. If you think about it, Maui's had a hard and complex life ever since he was a child. I want to explore that some more in later chapters. I also enjoyed writing about the relationship between him and Moana and how it's changed over the years. There will be more on that later. I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Look forward to the next one.)


	4. Meddling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: This chapter is going to focus on Maui, at least towards the beginning. It also contains a theory I have regarding the Heart of Te Fiti and Moana's grandmother which, now that I think about it, should be pretty obvious, yet I haven't heard anyone bring it up. Oops, I should probably stop with the spoilers.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 3: Meddling**

Maui lay on his back, looking up at the stars in the sky. The boats drifted along gently, tended to by the wayfinding night shift. Maui paid them no mind as he simply enjoyed the peace and quiet. Being a demigod, he didn't require much sleep, but he did like to take time to relax from time to time.

Now was not one of those times. His thoughts kept drifting to the brave, smart, kind, beautiful woman who had kissed his cheek. It seemed his thoughts were always on her, and had been for some time. Their little moments together had become time he treasured, and whenever he was away from her, all he wanted to do was go back.

It had happened gradually, and he had been too stupid to recognize it. They were good friends, and he had been blinded by those feelings of friendship, not realizing what other feelings were beginning to develop. And by time he had figured it out, it was too late.

He was such an idiot. How could he have let this happen? Or rather, he should have known this would happen. Moana was an extraordinary person. Never in his thousands of years had he known anyone like her. It really was no wonder the ocean had entrusted the heart of Te Fiti to her.

He sighed deeply. On his chest, Mini-Maui gave him a sad look. The demigod nodded down at him. "I know, buddy, I know. It sucks." He glanced up at the sky, his eye landing on one star in particular. "Hope you have better luck than me, Evangeline."

He looked at Moana's hut. She was surely asleep by now. He wondered if she was dreaming about him. He wasn't a complete fool; he had been observant enough to realize that she had developed feelings for him as well. And, of course, how could she not? He was Maui after all. He'd had countless women, and men, fall for him.

There was just one key difference. Those people loved Maui, the demigod of the wind and sea, hero to all. Not her though. He knew that his title and status meant nothing to her. He could be a disgraced, exiled, ordinary mortal, and she still wouldn't care. That was, perhaps, the hardest thing about this, knowing that her feelings were genuine.

However, he still didn't know how deep those feelings ran. Was it just a crush? Did she really like him, or was it full-blown love? That was something he did not know. If it wasn't true love, then he hoped to spare her pain and prevent it from coming to that. It was part of the reason he kept leaving. There were no more monsters to fight, he had cleared them all out long ago.

The last monster he had fought was the timingila, aka the 'whale swallower'; a giant shark monster that very much lived up to his its title. That had been 10 months ago. The rest had fled as Te Kā's darkness receded. Ever since then, search as he might, he couldn't find any monsters to fight, or even great deeds to accomplish. There was literally nothing for him to do.

That had been the problem 1,000 years ago. After he had shaped the world, he had literally run out of things to do for the people. They hadn't needed a hero anymore. And as time went by, and one generation gave birth to the next, he had become less important, less worshipped, less loved. That had hurt. After everything he had done for them, the mortals no longer needed him. They were capable of doing things for themselves, and he went by unneeded, forgotten.

That was when he had gotten the stupid idea to steal the heart of Te Fiti. Surely if he gave the mortals the power of creation, they would love him again. At least that had been the plan, one that had gone horribly wrong. And now he had a permanent reminder of it on his back.

Restoring the heart had fixed his mistake. And with all the monsters that had appeared as Te Kā's darkness spread across the world, the mortals needed him once again. And so, Maui had gone back to being their beloved hero. He'd flown all over, fighting and chasing off vicious beasts of all shapes and sizes. In between, he would visit Moana and her sea-bound tribe for a few days before taking off to be a hero once again.

But as time went on, and the monster sightings had become more and more rare, he was faced with the same dilemma he'd had 1,000 years ago. He would no longer be needed. The only difference this time was that he had a place he could go to and people he could be with. Having real friends and people who really cared about you was very different from having fans who only loved you for the things you've done for them. And so his visits to Moana and her people become lengthier and more frequent.

And then the trouble started. One day he had noticed a change in Moana that had nothing to do with her growing up. It was in the way she spoke to him, the way she looked at him, acted around him, touched him. He cursed himself for not noticing it sooner, but seeing as he had never had a true friend like her, perhaps he hadn't been able to see it. And so he had made his visits shorter and stayed away longer, hoping that whatever feelings she had developed would go away.

They didn't. If anything, they seemed to have gotten stronger. And if the situation weren't complicated enough, these periods of forced separation had brought on a revelation of his own. He felt the same way as she did. In fact, he may have felt this way before he even realized how she felt about him, and just hadn't realized it.

"Uh!" he groaned, rubbing his face. "What a mess. See, this is why demigods should not interact with mortals for so long. Things become complicated. Seriously, what happened to me? Did I get dumber while stuck on that island? I never stayed with any particular group of mortals for so long before." He began lifting his head and letting it drop onto the hard wooden boat. "Stupid. Stupid. Stupid."

He knew that if he were smart, he would just leave and never come back. But if he did, he knew it would hurt Moana, and that was the last thing he wanted. Besides, she would never forgive him if he left and never came back. Heck, knowing her, she'd probably come after him.

He'd tried to stay away anyway. More than once. His resolve never lasted long though. His weakness irritated him. How could someone as strong as him be so weak? Still, he'd rather have her in his life held at a distance than not at all. But then he would eventually lose her to time. He didn't think he could bear to see her die while he endured. It was a no win situation for either of them.

A splash of water interrupted his thoughts as he was sprayed. Startled, he turned over and looked over the boat, expecting to see the ocean mocking him. Instead, he saw a large manta ray swimming beside the boat. It splashed him again with its flipper, and Maui cut his eyes at it. "That's you, isn't it, granny?"

The manta ray went still, floating unmovingly beside the boat. A glow began to emit from it, and the ghostly form of an old woman appeared on the boat. "The name is Tala. You would do well to remember others' names."

Maui rolled his eyes as he sat up. This wasn't the first time he had met Moana's grandmother. Spirits always appeared the way the were remembered best by the person they came to. Having never met her himself, the only reason she appeared to him as an old woman and not a shapeless spirit or a Will O' the Wisp was because Moana had described her to him as such. Had she appeared to Moana's parents, she would have looked the way they remembered her best, most likely younger and more familiar to how they knew her for a majority of their lives. It made Maui wonder how she looked to herself when she saw her reflection.

Moving to a sitting position, he gave the spirit a bored look. "Any reason why you're bothering me instead of playing with dolphins?"

Tala smiled. "I couldn't help but notice that you were brooding. Would you care to talk about it?"

Not with her. That would be too awkward. "Nope, I'm good. Thanks. You can go swim off now."

He flopped back down on his back and looked at the stars again. The glow of Tala's spirit did not fade, and he could feel her gaze on him. He resisted the urge to groan. What was it that made old people always feel the need to meddle in the younger generations' affairs? And  _he_  was a lot older than _her_.

Lifting his head, he gave her a curious look as he asked something he'd been wondering about for a while now. "Why'd you come back anyway? Don't you want to move on and see your loved ones?"

Tala chuckled. "My dear boy, the afterlife isn't going anywhere. I'll get there eventually. But I'm not done with this world yet. I've been trapped on Motunui all my life; I want to see what else the world has to offer."

He sat up again. "And you chose the underwater world?"

"I took an interest in it. I always loved the ocean."

Maui rolled his eyes. "I'll bet; you are Moana's grandmother." He gave her a knowing look. "By the way, I know how you did the whole manta ray thing. You used the power of the heart of Te Fiti so you would come back as one after you kicked the bucket." He raised an eyebrow. "You do know that it was the heart that was keeping you alive. That's why you croaked right after you gave it to her."

She shrugged nonchalantly. "There were more important things to worry about. Like the world ending. Beside, death gave me my freedom. The freedom to see the world."

"Yet you keep coming back here."

"I keep coming back  _home_ , Maui. The same reason you keep coming back. You should know that home is not a place. That is why you keep returning here."

Maui didn't like the way this conversation was going, and he stood up. "Yeah, well," he gave a forced yawn, "I guess I'll turn in for the night. Later, granny. Have fun with the fishes."

He hadn't taken more than three steps before Tala's voice stopped him. "I approve, you know."

Maui had frozen in mid-step. He remained where he was for a few moments before asking, "Approve of what?"

An amused chuckle escaped the old woman. "Come now, Maui. Lets not play these games."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

Tala shrugged. "Very well, then I'll speak plainly. I know how you feel about-"

Whirling around, Maui pointed his hook at her. "You don't know anything."

She mocked him with a knowing smile. "I know you're afraid."

Surprise crossed the demigod's face. "Whoa, whoa, wait, hold up there. Maui does not feel fear."

"Everyone feels fear, Maui. And anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves."

He stomped down on the deck, nearly tipping the small boat over. "I'm not a mere human. I'm Maui, the demigod of the wind and sea, hero to all. I fear nothing."

Tala gave him a skeptical look. "You were afraid of the heart of Te Fiti."

An annoyed grunt escaped the demigod. "That… That's a cheap shot."

On his chest, Mini-Maui pulled down some tapestry. On the left side was a hook, on the right side was a manta ray. Mini-Maui made a mark under the manta ray, then flashed Maui a mocking grin.

Scowling, Maui flicked his chest. "Hey, don't start that keeping score stuff." He looked back at Tala. "Ok, you had me on the heart thing, but I got over it. And just for the record, I wasn't 'scared' of it; I was just cautious since it was a magnet for trouble. And like I said, I got over it. Now I fear nothing."

Tala raised an eyebrow. "Then why are you running away?"

A chuckle of disbelief escaped him. "I'm not running away. Do I look like I'm running?"

"You're running from your feelings."

That shut the demigod up. Even Mini-Maui looked surprised before he recovered and added  _two_  marks beneath the manta ray's side. Maui glared at his little friend before flexing his chest muscles, causing Mini-Maui to bounce around. "I swear, if you don't cut it out, you will be living in my butt crack for the rest of the week."

Mini-Maui scowled, but rolled up the tapestry, crossed his arms, and began fuming. Maui nodded in satisfaction and looked back at Tala, looking completely serious. "You want to have a serious talk about this, granny, then fine, let's talk. Why do you think I'm running away from my feeling?"

A teasing smile crossed the old woman's face. "Because you're a bumbling idiot."

"Ah!" the demigod cried in frustration, throwing his arms into the air. "You're as infuriating as your granddaughter. Now I know where she gets it from."

"Maui…"

"You know the stories. Relationships between mortals and demigods always end in tragedy. One will continue to grow older while the other stays the same. The same will be true with Moana and me."

Tala shrugged, looking thoughtful. "Some people would find it very appealing to have a spouse that remains young and handsome indefinitely." She gave him a curious look. "Or is it you who does not want to be with someone who will eventually end up old and weak while you remain young and strong?"

Maui snorted. "As if I'm that shallow. I just don't want to lose someone I love."

Tala sighed deeply. "Maui, we all lose people we love at some point. Parents, aunts, uncles, siblings, spouses, grandparents, they all die eventually; some before others, but we all eventually reunite on the other side."

He pointed his hook at her. "Not me. I'm a demigod. Eternal life has its perks, but it's also a curse. I've know demigods who have taken their own lives after a loved one has died, just so they could be with them again. You would subject me to that pain? And what about our children? If I don't take my own life, will I be forced to endure their eventual deaths as well? And our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren? Will I be forced to forever watch generation after generation of my descendants die while I remain unchanging. The death of a single child has been more than enough to make some parents give up on life."

He slammed his hook on the floor, once again nearly tipping the boat. Tala just stared at him with a blank expression while Maui breathed heavily. His emotions began to settle, and he sighed, turning away. "This is why relationships between demigods and mortals are discouraged. They always end in pain. Even if they're just friends."

He sat down, keeping his back to the old woman. On his chest, Mini-Maui hung his head. Maui offered his little friend a small smile and patted his chest, comforting the sentient tattoo the only way he could.

He felt a hand on his arm as Tala gave him an encouraging squeeze. "Pain is a part of life, Maui. But we do not sacrifice the good times just so we can avoid the bad. I care about my granddaughter, and I care about you. I want to see you both happy. And from the looks of it, that happiness lies with each other."

Maui snorted. "You're crazy, lady."

She smiled, looking amused. "You may be a lot older than me, Maui, but wisdom comes with age, not unchanging years. You get a whole different perspective on things when you actually grow old and see your life pass you by." She gave him a look. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe you have been looking for love in the wrong place?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked, not even turning around.

She shook her head. "Maui, Maui, Maui. All your life you've been trying to win the love of everyone to fill the empty space in your heart. You've craved it since you were denied the love of your parents. So you became a hero so the mortals would love you. But that is not real love. It's hero worship. They only love you because of what you could do for them. Real love is different. And, often, it is a lot closer than you think. Sometimes it's right in front of you."

She patted his arm before stepping away from him. "Consider this, Maui, is not a lifetime of happy memories worth a few bad ones? Yes, the bad ones hurt, but we also have the happy ones to bring a smile to our faces during our sad times. Should you not take whatever happiness you can get while you can get it? In the end, the decision is up to you."

She faded away after that. The manta ray seemed to wake up, and it submerged, leaving Maui with his thoughts. An annoyed growl escaped him at the old woman's meddling. It seemed that no matter what generation it was, the elderly always tried to share their words of wisdom, whether others wanted them to or not.

"Old people," he grumbled. "They just can't mind their own business."

On his chest, Mini-Maui was trying to get his attention. He looked down at his little friend, and Mini-Maui motioned towards Moana's hut. Maui raised an eyebrow at him. "What?" Mini-Maui slapped his face. He grabbed Mini-Moana, swept her off her feet, and kissed her. Maui's mouth dropped open in shock. "What? No, I'm not going to do anything of the sort. I don't care what some old lady says. We both know this is for the best."

Mini-Maui scowled and returned Mini-Moana to her position on the boat, and crossed his arms, openly pouting. Maui gave him a look of disapproval. "Hey, don't give me that. The answer is still no. I'm not subjecting myself to the pain."

Mini-Maui motioned towards Moana's hut, as if to ask 'What about her?' But Maui just shook his head. "She'll move on as long as I don't encourage her. And if she ever does confess to me, I'll turn her down gently. But she's smart, I'm sure she's already figured out why this can't work. Otherwise she would have made a move. Moana isn't the type of girl to sit around and wait for her prince to show up. She knows what she wants and goes for it. Now, we are going to bed, and we are not going to talk about this anymore. Ok? Ok."

Mini-Maui crossed his arms in protest as Maui pushed aside the curtain to his designated hut and went inside. He hadn't been inside for 10 seconds before a scream had him poking his head out again. This was followed by a loud commotion and more shouting. Maui quickly scrambled out of his hut and turned into a hawk, flying over to whatever was going on.

Flying over the boats, he immediately saw the situation. A group of warriors were scrambling about, trying to catch a lone Kakamora. It was much smaller than the others, indicating that it was a child, and its war-paint had been washed off by the water. It appeared to have stowed away on one of the boats, waiting for most of the community to fall asleep before attacking. It wielded a spear that was just the right size for it, and it swiped it at the warriors and pole-vaulted away from them.

The Kakamora suddenly found itself cornered by three warriors looming over it. It swung at them threateningly, but the weapon was too small to be of any real concern. They lunged for the Kakamora, but the little critter jumped up and kicked off the wall of a hut, going over the warriors' heads and landing behind them. It used its spear to once again pole-vault itself away from them… and right into the wall of muscle that was Maui.

The demigod looked down at the little pirate. The Kakamora immediately jumped to its feet and pointed its spear at him. Maui merely raised an eyebrow at this. "You're quite the little fighter, aren't you?"

The Kakamora began yammering in its native language before throwing its spear at the demigod. Maui easily caught it and tossed it aside. "Right, lets get this over with."

He reached for the Kakamora. It turned to run, but was grabbed in the demigod's large hand. Tossing it into the air like it was a ball, he turned to the open ocean. "Ok, lets see how far I can throw." He began twirling his arm, building up speed. "Happy landings, little guy."

"Maui!" His arm froze mid-throw. Turning, he saw Moana making her way over to him, her people parting to let her through. "What do you think you're doing?"

He flashed her a smile. "Hey, kid. Come to see how much distance I can get with this guy?"

He held up the Kakamora, and a dizzy mumble escaped the creature from being spun around. Moana frowned in disapproval, throwing a glare at Maui. "Put it down, now."

The smile left his face. "What? It'll be fine. He'll float."

"Down, now."

Scowling, Maui dropped the coconut-wearing pirate. It bounced on the floor, seeming to snap out of its dizzy state. It jumped up and began shouting and shaking its finger up at Maui. He glared at the Kakamora. "Watch it, shorty, or I'll step on you."

"Maui," Moana scolded. She got down on her knees so she could speak to the Kakamora more on its level. "It's ok, little guy."

The Kakamora snatched up its spear and jabbed it at her. She scowled at it and her hand shot out, slapping the top of the Kakamora's hand. "No, bad Kakamora. Bad." The Kakamora didn't back down, and she continued looking and speaking to it like a parent disciplining a naughty child. "Put the spear down. Put it."

The Kakamora refused to listen, and Maui bonked it over the head with his hook, then used it to pin the creature down as it kicked and pounded the ground with its fists. "Don't bother playing nice with it. He's a Kakamora."

"Maui," Moana grumbled. She pushed his hook aside and picked up the Kakamora. "There, there. That's a good Kakamora." It responded with more gibberish and began slapping at her. She slapped its swinging hands right back. "Stop it. Be a good little pirate. No hitting. Or stabbing."

Maui just stared dumbfounded as he watched her try to interact with the creature. He exchanged looks with the other tribe members before glancing at Mini-Maui. "Am I the only one seeing something wrong with this picture?" He looked back at her. "Moana, it's a Kakamora. It just tried to kill us. We should just throw it overboard."

She glared at him. "It's a child. We are  _not_  throwing him overboard."

"He's probably going to cut our throats while we sleep. Heck, that's probably what he tried to do before he got caught."

"Maui," she said sternly, "we are  _not_  throwing him overboard."

"Come on, he's wearing a coconut, so he'll float."

The Kakamora had calmed down in Moana's arms, but it seemed to understand what Maui was suggesting, and it began waving an angry finger at him as it blabbered nonsense. The demigod glared, bringing his face up to the creature. "Don't test me, you little pygmy."

"Maui…" Moana warned.

He looked back at her. "He's a Kakamora. A murdering pirate. Do you really want to risk keeping him around?"

"Well, I'm not going to leave him to die," she argued back. She turned the Kakamora to her and began speaking to him as one would an infant. "You just had a bad upbringing, didn't you? Yes, you did. But we can fix that, can't we? Yes, we will. We'll teach you to be a good boy."

The Kakamora seemed to be confused as it cocked its head to the side. The other tribe members looked uncertain while Maui stared at them with hooded eyes. "I think I'm going to be sick."

She looked back at him. "I'll take responsibility for him. And it could be good to have a Kakamora ally in case we run into others in the future. It could help us avoid fighting or raiding."

Maui groaned. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Moana!" Her father had finally arrived, her mother right behind him. He surveyed the scene before him, seeing his daughter holding a Kakamora child. "What's going on?"

Maui gave him a look and held his arms out to Moana and the Kakamora she held, as if telling him to do something about his daughter and her new friend.

Still smiling, Moana simply turned to her father and held up the Kakamora. "We have a new member."

Tui stared at the creature for a few moments before giving his daughter an uncertain look. "Moana…"

"I know what you're going to say," she told him, "but I'm the chieftess here, and I've made my decision. He's staying."

Tui looked at her and saw that she would not budge on this. He gave his wife a questioning look, but Sina just shrugged. He sighed in resignation and turned back to his daughter. "As the chieftess commands."

That seemed to settle things. Everyone returned to their beds as those on night duty went about their business. Moana smiled in satisfaction and looked down at the Kakamora. "Looks like you're one of us now."

"I think you're making a mistake," Maui told her. "He can't be trusted."

"It'll be fine," she assured him confidently. She set the Kakamora down. "So, what's your name, little guy?"

The Kakamora just stared at her. Moana wondered if he understood her, so she pointed at herself. "My name is Moana. Moana." She pointed at him. "And you? What's your name?"

"Wapapalu!" the Kakamora cried.

Moana blinked, not sure if she heard correctly. "Um, what?"

"Wapapalu!"

She stared at him for a few moments before smiling. "Ok, Wapapalu it is."

"I still say you're making a mistake," said Maui.

"Maybe," she gave the demigod a knowing smile, "but it's mine to make."

Maui reluctantly grunted in acknowledgement. If she wanted to spend all her time keeping a watch over the Kakamora to make sure it didn't hurt anyone, then that was her choice. But if the little pirate harmed one hair on her head, he would personally crack the little coconut open.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Far away, at the bottom of the ocean, the sea floor began to shift. A darkness with flickers of light within it emerged from the fractures that had begun appearing. It swirled through the water as it sped to the surface, heedless of anything in its path.

Bursting from the water's surface, the black mass came together in the sky and took form. It emitted a monstrous roar, the likes of which the world had never heard before. Glowing eyes of light shined through the darkness that made up its face, looking at something far in the distance.

"Maui…" the beast growled, speaking in a deep, rumbling voice.

Its form broke into a shapeless mass and sped through the air, disappearing in the darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Alright, a lot happened here, starting with Maui getting a nice pep talk from Moana's grandmother. I always though it was peculiar that Tala died immediately after giving the heart to Moana, so I figured that maybe her time had already past and it was simple the heart keeping her alive, so once she gave it up, she died, but not before using its power to resurrect as a manta ray. At least that's my theory/head-cannon. I'm getting off topic though. Both Tala and Maui raised some good points on both their ends. You can't blame Maui for not wanting to experience watching his loved ones dying again and again while he never dies, but then Tala also has a point about not sacrificing the good times just to avoid the bad. A bit of a conundrum, isn't it? I also wanted to break the cliché of And now what's this, they now have a pet Kakamora? Ah, I shouldn't say pet, but is what Maui said true, is Moana making a huge mistake. And what is this dark entity that has awakened with Maui on its mind stay tuned to find out.)


	5. Learning To Get Along

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Alrighty then, when he last left off, Moana and Maui made a new... uh, friend. Well, Moana did anyway. Maui is having some pretty big doubts, and rightly so. Wapapalu is a Kakamora after all, even if he is still a child. Lets see if those doubts are accurate. Oh, and if you usually skip them, I suggest reading my Author's Note at the end, just for some important impute on certain events that will be happening in this chapter and later on. You'll see what I mean.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 4: Learning To Get Along**

It was safe to say that Maui and Wapapalu hated each other. They were always at each other's throats, sometimes literally in Wapapalu's case. Moana attempted to keep the peace between them, but to no avail.

There had been some problems for the first few days, but as time passed, Wapapalu had stopped acting hostile towards the rest of the community. He had been a wary and aggressive at first, but had begun to relax and become more docile, and as such was allowed to interact with the community more often, under Moana's watch of course.

He seemed to enjoy playing with the children, which only made sense since he was a child himself. The parents had been hesitant and cautious about their kids playing with a Kakamora, but as there were never any incidents, and since both Moana and Maui were always watching, the fear that Wapapalu might try anything continued to lessen.

"I still say we crack this coconut," Maui stated, as he had many times over the past several days.

"Come on," said Moana. "He's fine. See, there's nothing to worry about; he's just playing with Heihei."

'Playing', in this sense, consisted of the eccentric chicken pecking against Wapapalu's head. The Kakamora grew aggravated and began chasing after him, waving his newly carved boomerang over his head.

Maui snickered. "Good job, drumsticks. Show him the role of stupid sidekick is already taken."

Wapapalu stopped chasing Heihei and threw his boomerang. It bounced off Maui's head, and he glared at the Kakamora. "Hey, you little-"

"Maui," Moana warned.

"But he just-"

"I saw." She gave the Kakamora a look of disapproval. "Wapapalu, that wasn't nice. No throwing things."

Holding his boomerang behind his back, Wapapalu looked down and began tracing circles with his foot. Over the past several days, he had grown attached to Moana and would follow her around much like a baby duck would its mother.

Smiling, Moana looked back at Maui. "See, he's sorry."

The demigod snorted. "I can put on a sad face and pretend to feel bad too."

Still smiling, she shook her head, and turned her back to them. Maui used the opportunity to snatch up Wapapalu and throw him in the ocean. "We have to learn to get along with each other." She picked up a coil of rope and turned back to them. "That means you both… Where's Wapapalu?"

Maui shrugged. A moment later, the ocean dropped the Kakamora back on the boat. Maui glared at the body of water irritably, but it didn't even acknowledge him.

Looking back at Moana, he saw her standing there with her hands on her hips, looking from him to Wapapalu. He pretended just now to notice the Kakamora. "Oh, there he is. Where'd you go, little guy? He sure is a quick one, isn't he? And why are you all wet? You go swimming?"

It was very obvious that Moana wasn't fooled. "Maui…"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, I was just kidding. Look." He grabbed Wapapalu and tossed him into the water again, only to have the ocean deliver the Kakamora back on deck. "See, no problem."

Wapapalu stalked over to Maui and whacked his shin with his boomerang. The demigod yelped and began hopping on one foot, causing him to fall overboard. The ocean chose not to help him back onboard.

"See," Moana told him, "serves you right."

Maui spat out a mouthful of water as he climbed back onto the boat. "How come you always take his side?"

She raised an eyebrow. "How come you always pick on him?"

Maui was outraged. "Me pick on him? You should see what he does to me when you're not looking."

She stared at him with hooded eyes. "I'm not blind, Maui. I know what the two of you get up to. But Wapapalu's a child. You're supposed to be setting a good example." She looked down at the smug Kakamora. "Nevertheless, Maui's right. I've been letting you get away with quite a bit since you're new around here, Wapapalu. But that's going to stop. I want you and Maui to try and get along. Ok?"

The Kakamora stared at her for a moment before looking at Maui. The demigod looked right back at him before sighing and holding his hand out for Wapapalu to take in a gesture of peace. The Kakamora looked at the offered hand before stomping his foot, turning away, and crossing his arms.

Maui gave Moana an 'I told you so' look, but she just chuckled and knelt down beside the Kakamora. "Come on now, Wapapalu. Be a good boy. Maui wants to be your friend. Friends are good."

Wapapalu glanced at her, then at Maui's hand before humphing once more and turning away again. Moana's cheerful look became more stern as she stood up and spoke in a more authoritative voice. "Wapapalu, shake Maui's hand. Now."

A few seconds went by where the Kakamora did nothing. Then he groaned and half-turned to Maui, placing his little hand in the demigod's much larger one. The two shook hands, the Kakamora doing his best to squeeze Maui's as hard as he could. Maui barely felt it, but cut his eyes at Moana. "He's deliberately squeezing my hand as hard as he can."

"There's no need to tattle," she replied.

Wapapalu tried to pull his hand back, but Maui refused to let go. The demigod smirked at him while keeping a firm grip. Wapapalu kept trying to inconspicuously pull his hand free, and when Maui finally let him go, he fell backwards.

"Oops, careful," said Moana, helping the Kakamora up. "Now, this means the two of you are now friends, and you're not going to be mean to each other anymore, right?"

The two glared at each other. Asking for peace was difficult enough, but asking for them to be friends was going too far.

"Right?" Moana insisted more sternly.

Maui reluctantly relented. "Sure."

There was a growl of agreement from Wapapalu. This seemed to be enough for Moana, who clapped her hands together. "Great. Now that that's settled, we've got some work to do. So, lets get to it."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The 'peace' only lasted for about an hour. Only now, the battle between the two had shifted from open hostility to competing against one another. Maui, being bigger and stronger, had an advantage over Wapapalu that the Kakamora was not happy about.

Currently, while Wapapalu was struggling to help the others pull in a net full of fish, Maui was able to lift his entire catch out of the ocean with one hand, and he flashed the Kakamora an arrogant smile when he did so.

That had been the last straw for Wapapalu, and he began to sabotage Maui's chores, from making them more difficult to completely making him have to do them over. The demigod caught on very quickly to what the Kakamora was doing and returned the favor. And so the rivalry turned into a series of pranks.

Moana wasn't fooled by their false tolerance of each other, no matter how they acted in front of her, but since they were no longer being openly hostile to each other, she left them alone, hoping they would grow tired of their immaturity. At least Wapapalu was no longer throwing anything he could get his hands on at Maui, and Maui wasn't repeatedly throwing Wapapalu overboard anymore.

As the hours ticked by, Maui found himself on child-watch duty. This consisted of keeping the children entertained for a period of time. And Wapapalu was one of the children. Maui had been anticipating this moment all day. It would provide the perfect opportunity to get even with the little Kakamora for cutting a hole in his fishing net earlier.

"Ok, kids," he called to the two teams he had formed, "today we're gonna play a game of boatball."

The children cheered. Boatball was a game they had invented that consisted of using a group of smaller boats. Each team was to hop from boat to boat, and attempt to get the ball through the other team's goal. And this was where Maui's revenge would take place.

"Today, however, we're going to play a little differently. This time, we won't be using a ball."

The children looked confused, no doubt wondering how they could play boatball without a ball. One of the children raised their hand to ask just that. "Then what are we going to play with?"

Maui's smile widened as he slowly strolled over to them, and to Wapapalu. "Well, my little friends, to make the game more difficult," his hand shot out and grabbed the Kakamora, "you're going to play with him! Catch!"

He tossed Wapapalu to one of the children and announced for them to start. The game immediately commenced with the children using Wapapalu in place of a ball. He was tossed, passed, and handed off over and over again. And when one of the children fumbled or missed a pass, he was too dizzy from being manhandled to escape. The children chased after him as he tried to run away, stumbling about in his dizziness, and they tackled him to the ground before tossing him to another teammate.

Maui snickered, proud of himself. "That'll teach the little creep a lesson. Right, pal?"

He held his knuckle up to his chest to fist-bump Mini-Maui, but the sentient tattoo just crossed his arms and looked away. Maui looked confused at his little friend's behavior. "Hey, what's wrong with you?"

Mini-Maui held his arms out towards the kids as they continued to play with Wapapalu. Maui just rolled his eyes. "Ah, he's fine. It's all fun in games."

Placing his hands on his hips, Mini-Maui began tapping his foot before pointing back to the game. Maui watched as a child ran with Wapapalu in his arms before chucking him through the air. The teammate he had been throwing to missed, and Wapapalu bounced across the deck. Several children went after him, their attempts to get to the Kakamora first causing them to kick and fumble him. Wapapalu had long since retracted his arms and legs into his coconut armor, but was no doubt getting rattled.

"Oh…" Maui muttered, seeing Mini-Maui's point, "yeah, that does look pretty bad. You think he's had enough?"

Mini-Maui nodded, and Maui called a halt to the game as he made his way over to the Kakamora. Wapapalu remained inside his coconut as Maui bent over him. "Um, hey, little guy. You ok?"

Wapapalu refused to come out, and Maui leaned in closer. He began to wonder if he went too far when Wapapalu suddenly burst out of his coconut and, with a battle cry, leapt at Maui. The demigod yelped in surprise as the Kakamora latched onto his head and began yanking on his hair.

"Ow! Hey! Get off!" Maui cried as he stumbled about. "Not the hair! Not the hair! Ouch!"

They children laughed as the two fought, and Maui eventually tripped over his own feet and ended up on his back. Wapapalu climbed up onto Maui's chest and began jumping up and down. Maui's hand shot out and grabbed him, and he sat up, glaring at the Kakamora.

"Alright, pipsqueak, that's the last straw. Now you're in big trouble."

"You both are."

Maui closed his eyes. He really wasn't surprised. Turning around, he found Moana standing behind him with her arms crossed. He resisted the urge to groan, and dropped Wapapalu. "We were just playing boatball."

"I can see that." She replied. "A new variation of it. Could you not find a ball?"

He diverted his eyes. "No, I found one."

"Wapapalu is not a ball!"

"He looks like one."

"Maui!"

"Aw, come one, he started it!"

"And you took it too far!" Moana sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I don't expect you guys to be the best of friends, but can you not constantly antagonize each other?"

Maui nudged the Kakamora forward with his foot. "Ask him."

Wapapalu shuffled forward, and Moana raised an eyebrow at him. She was fully aware that he had been the one to break the 'peace' between them, and she let him know it with a look. Wapapalu's shoulders sank as he realized he was in trouble. Moana's expression softened, and she knelt down.

"Wapapalu, I know it can be hard for you to be here, and I know you don't like Maui, especially since he attacked your people."

"Excuse me!?" the demigod exclaimed.

She held up a hand to silence him as she continued speaking to Wapapalu. "I want what's best for you, but you have to help me. You don't have to like Maui, but can you at least stop being mean to him. Please, for me. And I'll make sure he stops picking on you too."

The Kakamora shifted side to side. Then he muttered something in his language. Moana took that as an agreement, and hoped it would last this time. "Ok, good. Now, say you're sorry you two." She turned Wapapalu around to face Maui. The Kakamora's face was hidden inside his coconut armor, but Maui's expression clearly showed that he was not happy about it, and it was safe to say that Wapapalu had a similar look on his face too. When neither apologized, Moana cleared her throat.

Still Maui waited, unwilling to speak first. Mini-Maui drew his attention and motioned towards Wapapalu. The demigod rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'm sorry."

Wapapalu looked away and muttered something in his language. Even though he was able to understand human speech, his different vocal cords prevented him from being able to speak their language. Still, both Moana and Maui took it as an apology.

The former smiled. "Good, now how about you take off your coconut so I can check you for injuries."

Wapapalu jumped away from her and began yammering in his language. Maui just snorted at his reaction. "Yeah, don't bother, kid. They're like hermit crabs. Except to swap out for a bigger coconut, the only time they ever take them off is to bathe, and to make more Kakamora. Maybe not even to bathe."

The Kakamora turned back to him and began marching aggressively towards him. Moana's eyes narrowed in warning. "Wapapalu…"

Wapapalu stopped. He looked back at Moana before glancing at Maui and growling, then angrily stomped off. Moana smiled, satisfied for now, and even Maui looked content. That is, until he realized that he wasn't off the hook yet when Moana turned to him. "What?"

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you really asking me that?"

"He kept pulling pranks on me."

"So you used him as a ball in a game?"

Maui rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, ok, that might have been taking it a little too far."

She sighed. "Come on, Maui, you're the adult here. We're trying to help Wapapalu adapt to life among us, and this," she motioned to the space between him and the direction Wapapalu had gone off in, "isn't helping."

"It's not my fault," he objected. "He just doesn't like me. He responds well to you though."

Moana smugly folded her arms. "He's like a disobedient child. He just needs a firm hand."

He looked away. "Well, you'd make a good mother."

She detected a hint of bitterness in his voice, and she softened, knowing the reason for it. Reaching out, she gently touched his arm. "Hey, I think you'd make a great father too. I've seen the way you are with the kids. You're great. You just need a little more patience when it comes to Wapapalu."

Maui twirled his hook. "Yeah, or I could just give him a few good whacks with this."

She reached up and grabbed his ear, pulling him down. "You are impossible," she told him, but she was smiling.

The demigod smirked. "Yeah, but you love me anyway."

"Lucky you."

She continued to hold him down by his ear, both smiling playfully at each other. Soon they became aware of giggling, and they looked to find the children huddled together, whispering and chuckling. Truth be told, they had completely forgotten about them.

"You think they're going to kiss?" one of the kids asked.

This caused more giggling and louder whispers. Moana looked embarrassed and quickly released Maui as she attempted to will away the blush she felt coming on. Maui recovered from the awkwardness quickly and went after the children, changing into a shark-head.

"Alright, you little rascals, clear out!" he cried, waving his hands as he snapped at the air. The children took off, screaming and laughing. "Yeah, get out of here.  _Grr!_  Shark-head.  _Rarrr!_ "

Moana snickered, her embarrassment replaced with laughter. "See. Now why can't you be like this with Wapapalu?"

Maui changed back to normal and turned to her. "Um, because he hates me."

Moana shook her head. "Then we're gonna have to work on that." She punched her palm. "I know, starting tomorrow, you and Wapapalu will do your chores together until you start getting along."

Maui's eyes practically popped out of his head. "WHAAAAAT!?"

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Maui was not happy about his new charge. Neither was Wapapalu when he was told. He sat on Moana's lap with Pua and Heihei on either side of him, glaring at Maui, who sat on the other side of the fire. Maui glared right back as he grabbed one of the fish that had been roasting on a pike over the fire and took a bite out of it, not once taking his eyes off the Kakamora.

Moana was beginning to second guess her decision to pair them up, but she was determine to make sure the two of them would start to get along. "Are you guys going to act like this the whole time?"

"Act like what?" Maui exclaimed, taking another bite of the fish. "I'm not doing anything. I'm just sitting here eating dinner. Nothing out of the ordinar-"

_Crunch!_  He ended up biting down on a bone since he wasn't paying attention. Making a face, he stuck his fingers in his mouth and pulled out the bits of bones, and tossed them into the water.

Wapapalu was snickering. Maui threw him a dirty look before glaring at Moana. She too was chuckling, though she had covered her mouth to try and stifle her laughter.

Maui growled and stood up. "I'm going to take a leak."

Moana made a face. "I didn't need details. You could have just said you were going to use the bathroom."

Maui didn't reply as he stomped off. Moana sighed and looked down at Wapapalu in her lap as the Kakamora roasted his own fish. "Hey, can you at least try and be nice to Maui. I kind of like him. A lot."

Wapapalu looked up at her and said something in his strange language. Moana didn't have a clue as to what he said, but she assumed it was some form of complaint.

"It would make my life much easier," she told him. "And it would make life a lot better for all of us."

The Kakamora grumbled and muttered some more gibberish. Moana sighed and stared into the fire. Fire, as Maui had claimed, that he had taken from the underworld and introduced to mortals until they learned to make it themselves. Just one of his many feats.

Even now, it was strange to associate the demigod of legend with the childish yet charismatic Maui that she knew. She supposed it was partly due to the fact that he portrayed himself differently to the rest of the world than he did to her people, her especially. She knew the real Maui, the one behind the legends and heroism. Despite the countless stories told about him, he was still a person with flaws, but Moana loved and accepted him exactly the way he was, quirks and all.

A sigh escaped her as she wondered how much longer he would stick around before rushing off to try and be a hero again somewhere else. She also wondered if the day would ever come when he would hang up his hook, so to speak, and not feel the need to earn the love of everyone again. Didn't he realize how everyone here loved and accepted him? He didn't need to prove himself to anyone here, and especially not to her.

"Life isn't fair," she muttered.

She went back to staring at the fire. She wasn't sure how long she simply gazed at the flames before Heihei suddenly jumped into her lap, all but knocking Wapapalu off her.

"Heihei, what are you doing?" she asked.

The quirky rooster began clucking and flapping his wings. Wapapalu was not happy at almost being knocked over and began bonking him over the head with his boomerang.

"Hey, stop that," Moana scolded. She picked up Heihei and set him down beside her again. "What's wrong, Heihei? Did a spark from the fire land on you?"

Next to her, Pua began to squeal, and this was followed by Wapapalu jabbering in his language. Moana glanced at them and saw that they were looking at something in the distance.

She saw what they were looking at now too. At first she thought it was just a cloud, but it wasn't moving like one. A flock of seagulls? No, it was too solid. It was also completely black, almost as if it were sucking up the light around it, and it was heading straight for them. She wasn't the only one who had become aware of it though; other community members had taken notice and were looking at it curiously.

"What is it?" someone asked. "A strange storm cloud?"

"It's no storm cloud," another replied. "I have seen something like this only once before, when the darkness of Te Kā was still spreading. My people watched as it claimed a neighboring island. This reminds me very much of Te Kā's darkness."

"Te Kā's darkness," Moana repeated. And it was getting closer. "Maui!"

The darkness was almost upon them when it suddenly plunged into the water. Heart racing, Moana grabbed a paddle and rushed to the side of her boat, looking into its dark depths. It was impossible to see anything down below, especially with the way the blackness blended in with the dark abyss.

The water exploded, and something large burst up in front of the boats. The darkness was no longer a shapeless mass, but had taken form. It now appeared that a giant black starfish was now hovering in the air, only it wasn't quite a starfish. At the top of the center point was a star-shaped dragon's head. Its eye sockets were empty, but a bright light shined from deep within. The same light shined from its dragon mouth as it opened wide and unleashed a monstrous roar.

Its body did not appear to be entirely solid, but rather a dark mass that moved about as if it were alive, very much like Te Kā's darkness. It seemed to be wrapped around a light source that occasionally flickered through as the blackness moved.

"By the gods, what is that!?" someone exclaimed.

"It's a monster!" someone else shouted. "Kill it!"

Arrows were fired and spears were thrown. The monster's attention shifted to its attackers, its eye-sockets narrowing. It opened its mouth, and a beam of light erupted from it. The warriors immediately abandoned ship as the beam struck, and the boat was instantly reduced to ash, crumbling apart into the water.

Fear coiled in Moana's gut. Not since Te Kā had she ever seen a beast so terrifying. What was this thing? Why was it here? Were they simply prey, or had it come here for-

"Yo, ugly!"

Moana's attention shifted to the demigod as he revealed himself. "Maui."

The demigod raised his hook up at the monster, his face a mask of anger. "You've got a lot of nerve attacking my friends. I'm going to take you down."

The monster stared at him, its muzzle shifting into a snarl. "Maui…" it growled in a deep rumbling voice.

"That's right, big guy, it's Maui. Prepare to feel my wrath!"

He let out a battle cry and leapt through the air at the monster, raising his hook over his head to strike the beast. One of the monster's starfish-like limbs that seemed to act as an arm swung outward and backhanded the demigod. Maui let out a cry and went flying into the horizon, splashing into the water.

The monster growled and turned its attention to the boats. The light emitting from its eye-sockets shined on them, letting the people know where it was looking. Families huddled together and warriors raised their weapons as the light shined on them, only to pass over them and move on to a different boat.

Moana gasped as she realized that the monster was looking for something. But what, she had no idea. Was it late to the game and had not heard that she had already returned the heart of Te Fiti and was now looking for it? She couldn't think of anything else it might want.

The light from the monster's eye-sockets continued to move along until it landed on her. She raised her hand to shield her own eyes from the brightness. It took her a moment to realize that, unlike the other boats, the light had not moved on after settling over her.

Squinting, she lowered her hand, and locked eyes with the monster. Yes, it was definitely looking at her, almost studying her. And something was telling her that that wasn't a good thing.

The monster let out a roar and moved towards her. Moana gasped in surprise and let out a startled yelp. She threw the oar she was holding at the beast as if it were a spear, but it passed right through it, almost as if the monster were made of smoke.

A tendril of darkness shot out of the monster's body at Moana. She jumped aside, and her entire boat nearly flipped over as the tendril struck it. Only the fact that the monster's body did not appear to be entirely solid prevented the boat from getting completely smashed from the impact. However, she and her companions did end up in the water, with the exception of Heihei thanks to the string tied to his leg.

Moana surfaced and immediately began looking around. She spotted Wapapalu floating nearby and swam over to him. Taking hold of the Kakamora, she began looking around for her pet pig. "Pua! Pua, where are you?"

She heard a squeal, and saw the potbelly pig paddling over to the boat. The monster was still hovering over the boat, and it sent out another tendril of darkness. Moana took a deep breath and submerged. The smoky tendril shot through the water, but missed her.

Staying underwater, she swam over to her boat, coming up beneath Pua. Taking hold of her pig, she tossed him and Wapapalu up on the boat. She began climbing up as well when something wrapped around her waist. She cried out as the tendril of darkness lifted her into the air. She was carried over to the monster, and it stared at her with its shining empty eye-sockets before grunting in satisfaction.

The screech of a hawk drew the monster's attention, and Maui came flying by. He transformed into his human form, and with a swipe of his hook, he severed the tendril holding Moana before becoming a hawk again. The severed tentacle around her waist dissolved away, and Moana fell. Maui flew over to her, his talons grasping her arms, wary of his claws. He returned her to her boat, then turned human again, wielding his hook like a deadly weapon.

"Maui, what is that thing?" Moana asked.

The demigod didn't take his eyes off the monster. "No clue, kid. But don't worry, I'll take it down."

Transforming into a hawk, he flew up at the monster. It snapped at him, and he maneuvered out of the way. Briefly becoming human, he whacked the monster with his hook. The beast's head snapped to the side from the blow, the hook seeming to have more of an impact that any other weapons used on it thus far. A snarl escaped the monster before it roared loudly. A powerful shockwave erupted from its body, and Maui was once again sent flying, feeling as if he had been hit by a physical force.

The mobster seemed to have gotten fed up at this point as it turned back to Moana. It became a shapeless mass of darkness and flew at her boat. Pua squealed fearfully and jumped into Moana's arms. The darkness fell over her, and she was carried off. Her hands shot out to grab hold of anything, and she grasped Heihei's string. It snapped from the base as she was pulled along. Heihei, in a stunning display of intelligence on his part, seemed to register what was happening as he glanced at the string tied to his leg. He looked up again and his eye twitched before he too was yanked along.

The mass of darkness reformed into the monster again. With its objective complete, it rose into the air, leaving the colony of boats behind. The screech of a hawk drew its attention, and it glanced back to see Maui flying after it. It turned around to face him as Maui became human, letting his momentum carry him towards the monster as he raised his hook.

"Give her back!" he bellowed.

The monster roared, and a massive flash of light burst from its mouth and eye-sockets. Maui was blasted backwards. He hit the water hard, and his hook slipped from his grasp. It sank into the ocean along with the demigod. He shook his head and glanced down, watching as his hook sank past him. He began swimming down after it when he heard the monster roar. He looked from the surface to his sinking hook and back, then once more at his hook. With a frustrated groan, he swam back up.

Breaking the surface, he grabbed onto the nearest boat and pulled himself up. Pushing his wet hair out of his face, he shouted up at the monster. "Hey, you big ugly freak! Where do you think you're going?"

The monster looked down at him, cocking its head to the side. Maui stared it down, not showing the least bit of fear. "That's right, big guy! I'm Maui, demigod of the wind and sea, and I'm calling you out!" He began speaking in the ancient language, performing the same dance of challenge he had done to Te Kā. "Come on, face me! Maui's ready for you; hook or no hook!"

The monster stared at him for a moment before roaring loudly. Then it turned its back on him and flew off. Maui was flabbergasted that it was turning down his challenge. "Hey, where do you think you're going?"

The monster ignored him as it continued to fly away, taking Moana with it. And without his hook, Maui was left stuck on the boat. "Get back here, you overgrown starfish! Bring her back!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: We've arrived at the main plot. But don't worry, even though Moana was taken, she's not just going to be a damsel in distress for Maui to rescue. But who and what is this creature, and why does it want Moana? If you've been paying attention, you should have some idea. How do you stop a monster like that though? On another note, who likes Wapapalu? Do you think he's a good addition, or not? I feel like he may be one of those characters that's either loved or hated. I guess we'll have to wait and see.)


	6. The Not Quite Deserted Island

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I couldn't really come up with a good chapter title for this one, and this is what I got in the end. Maybe I'll change it if I come up with a better one, but for now, this is what it is.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 5: The Not Quite Deserted Island**

It was over. Moana was gone, as was the monster that had taken her. The colony was in disarray from the beast's attack, and everyone was trying to pick up the pieces. With their chieftess absent, Moana's father had stepped up as acting chief to try and get things under control again.

Maui had not moved from his spot. Ever since the monster had turned down his challenge and fled with Moana, he had remained standing on the end of his boat, staring out upon the horizon. No one said a word to him; there were too many things to worry about besides whatever he might be thinking about.

It wasn't until the sun began to rise that Sina finally approached the demigod. She quietly came up behind him, her face a mask of despair. "Maui…"

There was a moment of silence before the demigod finally sighed. "I'm sorry. I failed her."

"No, Maui-"

"I failed her. I'm supposed to protect everyone from monsters like that, but I failed her. What kind of hero am I?"

"It is not your fault, Maui," Sina insisted, her voice cracking as she attempted to hold herself together. "Neither Tui or I blame you, and we know our daughter doesn't either."

He turned around to face her. "I should have done more. I should have fought harder."

"My daughter is no damsel in distress, Maui," Sina told him proudly, even as tears ran down her cheeks. "She is strong and brave. You did not fail her. We were all caught off guard by that monster."

"Monster," Maui repeated. "I've faced all manner of beasts, but never anything like that. It reminded me of Te Kā."

"That is because it has Te Kā's power."

Both Maui and Sina turned as Tui walked over to them. There was a pained look on his face for the loss of his daughter, but he was doing his best to remain strong; he had to, for his wife, for his people.

He had been busy keeping everyone together as they recovered from the attack, replaying what had happened over and over again in his mind, thinking of what he could have done differently. But the more he had thought about it, the stranger the situation had seemed to be, and that was when he had come up with a theory, and so was now approaching the demigod with his thoughts.

In his arms, he held a rolled up tapestry, but Maui didn't even notice it as he lowered his head in apology.

"Great chief," he said, unable to meet Tui's eyes, "I apologize for allowing this to happen. I know that does not help, but I am truly sorry." His voice cracked slightly, and it took everything he had to hold himself together. "I am a horrible excuse of a hero."

Tui did his best to continue to look stern. "If you hold yourself at fault, then you need to make amends."

"Anything."

Tui nodded. "I do not believe my daughter is dead just yet."

Maui looked at him in surprise. "You don't think she's dead?"

Sina grasped her husband's hand, looking at him hopefully. "Dear?"

Maui studied the chief. At first he thought it was just denial, but looking at him, he saw that Tui was serious. It was likely the only thing keeping him together, and it made Maui's chest swell with hope. "How? What makes you think she's alive?"

With a reassuring glance at is wife, Tui unrolled the tapestry. Maui looked at it, and saw a scene that seemed to tell the story of a star that had fallen into the hands of a familiar fiery creature before becoming a monster and moving to the bottom of the ocean to sleep. There was also an island with a figure that looked like Mini-Maui with a constellation of stars in the shape of a hook hanging over it.

Sina's eyes were wide as she studied the tapestry. "I know this. Do you think…?"

"Think what?" Maui asked. "I've never heard this story."

"It is one of our legends," Tui told him. "My mother used to tell stories of ancient times, and this was one of them."

"Yes," said Sina, becoming more convinced by what her husband was saying. "If it's true," she looked back at Maui, "then the monster that took our daughter was a fallen star called Hika."

' _Sparkle,'_  Maui's mind automatically translated the name. "That's not possible. Fallen stars only have mere minutes left to live once they drop from the sky. And they certainly don't look like that thing that attacked us."

"It's due to the wish," Tui explained. "When he fell, Hika was over what was the island of Te Fiti. He was caught by Te Kā."

Maui's eyes widened, and he returned his attention to the tapestry. Yes, the fiery creature holding the star did indeed resemble Te Kā; that was why it looked so familiar. "By the gods… But what's that have to do with Moana?"

"You denied Te Kā the one thing she desired. This was her revenge. That should you ever escape your island, Hika shall take what you love the most."

Maui's fists clenched. Now things were starting to make sense. He assumed Te Kā had also provided Hika with the means to keep living in order to fulfill her wish. That was likely the reason why Hika looked like such a monster, because he was filled with Te Kā's dark power. Once again, his mistake in taking the heart of Te Fiti was coming back to haunt him.

He suddenly realized what Moana's parents were implying. If Hika was to take what Maui loved the most, and he had taken Moana… Well, this was awkward.

"Then why would he take Moana?" he asked, his words sounding unconvincing even to his own ears.

Tui lowered the tapestry. "Do not insult our intelligence," he snapped. "Our daughter does not have time for this."

Maui winced internally. He was right, there were more important things to worry about. "Sir, you have my word, if Moana is still alive, I will sail to the ends of the earth to find her." He tapped his chin in thought. "But how am I going to do that without my hook? I'll have to find it first."

"Um, Maui…" said Sina.

He waved his hand dismissively. "Not now, I'm trying to figure out how to get my hook from the bottom of the ocean. We're not even in the same position we were in when I lost it. That's going to make it even harder to find."

"Maui," said Tui.

"Hold on, I'm thinking. Now, if a monster or something took it, it could be even harder to get it back. I wouldn't put it past Tamatoa make an attempt to get it back. If that's the case, I'll have to go back to Lalotai."

Something cold and wet tapped him on the shoulder. He pushed it off as he kept thinking, and was promptly whipped on his rear end. He yelped and turned around to see a tentacle of water protruding from the ocean. The tentacle pointed, and he turned to see a familiar manta ray swimming beside the boat. On its back was-

"My hook!" he exclaimed. He snatched it up, holding it in the air proudly, not even thanking the manta ray. "Alright, this will make things easier." He gave Moana's parents a smile. "Don't you worry; your daughter's as good as found."

Sina still looked worried. "I have faith in you, Maui, but how will you find her?"

He smirked. "Don't worry, I know a guy. But I'm going to need some help. Get me a boat, and all the rope you have."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Something sharp poked Moana's head. She groaned sleepily and made to push it away. There were three more pokes, and she moaned loudly, not opening her eyes. "Just a few more minutes."

_Poke, poke, poke._  She grumbled in frustration and opened her eyes. "What is it?" She was greeted by her googly-eyed rooster with his face right in front of her, and she jumped back in surprise. "Heihei!?"

The rooster  _bawked_  and cocked his head to the side. Moana blinked as she saw that he was on a beach. Which meant she was as well. But why? When did she get here? How? The last thing she remembered was…

She froze as it all came back to her. The attack, the monster, being snatched off the boat, swirling darkness, then nothing.

She jumped as something rubbed up against her. Pua was here as well, nuzzling against her leg. It seemed both he and Heihei had gotten caught up in the attack. But where was the monster?

As if to answer her question, she heard something moving through the trees a way's off from the beach. She slowly got to her feet, listening closely as she tried to judge how far away it was. She couldn't remain here; it was too out in the open. If the monster returned, there would be nowhere for her to run to.

"Pua, Heihei, come here," she whispered as she began backing away.

Pua immediately trotted over to her, but Heihei started walking off in the wrong direction,  _towards_  the source of the noise. Moana panicked and spoke in a louder whisper. "No, Heihei, this way. This way!"

The loud crashing got louder, and now the trees began shifting as the source moved towards the beach. Moana gasped, and her eyes darted to the string tied to Heihei's leg that was dragging across the sand. She grabbed it and took off, yanking the rooster along. Pua was right behind her as they ran down the beach, away from the approaching noise.

She heard the monster burst through the trees and onto the beach. It roared, but she did not look back, intent on putting as much distance between herself and the monster as possible.

She didn't get far before a mass of darkness rushed past her, and the monster reformed in front of her. She skidded to a stop and ran the other way. The monster opened its mouth and fired a beam at her. It skidded across the sand in front of her, instantly turning it to glass, and bringing her to a halt.

She turned back to the monster as it towered over her. It no longer hovered in the air, but rested on all four limbs. This close and in the light, she could get a much better look at it. The head seemed to be an eerie combination of a dragon and a human skull, the dragon snout protruding from the human skull-like head. Its eye sockets were indeed empty, save for the light that shined from them. The five spikes that protruded from its head stuck out from the top, the sides, and its lower jaws, making its head look like it was shaped like a star.

The monster was completely black, but didn't appear to be solid; its skin moving like water. No, it was more like smoke and shadow, merely shaping itself into a body, but not being actual flesh and bone. Even its fangs were made of shadow and vapor. Light shined from small areas that opened on its body as the darkness moved.

To Moana's utter astonishment, the monster opened its mouth and spoke in a deep rumbling voice. Not a single word like when it spoke Maui's name, but a full coherent sentence. "Don't run. There's nowhere for you to go."

Moana's heart was racing, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "You… You can talk? Who are you?"

The monster puffed out its chest proudly. "I am Hika."

Moana's eyes narrowed in thought. "Hika… I've heard that name somewhere before… Yes, it was in one of Grandmother's tales." She looked back up at the monster. "You're the star that was caught by Te Kā."

Hika looked impressed as he began circling around her. "So you know my story?"

"It's one of our legends. I didn't know how much truth there was to it though."

"Enough truth for me to be here."

He was still circling her, but Moana was beginning to feel slightly more at ease. If she was in any real danger, she would be dead by now. "And why are you here?"

He gave her a look of interest. "You know my legend. Do you not know the reason?" He looked out across the ocean. "I am here to grant a wish."

Moana tried to think back to the stories her grandmother had told her. "Te Kā's wish… You're to take what Maui loves the most."

Hika looked back at her. "Very good, child. Yes, just as Maui denied Te Kā that which she most desired, I am to take that which Maui desires more than anything."

Yes, Moana remembered it now, the full story her grandmother had told her about the fallen star. "But why take me?"

A bark of laughter escaped the star. "How very cliché. They say that love is blind, but often, it's those who are loved that are blind."

Moana tried to make sense of what he was saying, and suddenly, it clicked. "Me? You're saying that what Maui loves more than anything is…?" She shook her head. "No, you must be mistaken."

"It's no mistake," Hika insisted. "The conditions of the wish provide me with an unmistakable instinct to allow me to grant it." He cocked his head to the side. "Perhaps it's your attempts to conceal your own feelings from him that have prevented you from seeing how he feels about you."

Moana's mind was spinning at this revelation. She might not have seen it, but if anything would have an eye for the going-ons in the world, it would be a star. A mix of emotions came with her swirling thoughts, threatening to overwhelm her.

But Moana prided herself on keeping a level head. There were more important things to worry about right now besides how she and Maui felt about each other. She had to find a way to get away from here. She could worry about the rest later.

"Wait," she said suddenly as an idea came to her. "You're granting Te Kā's wish, right? Te Kā is actually Te Fiti. She and I are really good friends. When she made her wish, it was because her heart was stolen, and it turned her into a demon. But her heart has been restored, and so has she. Te Fiti would not want you to do this."

"It does not matter," Hika replied.

She frowned in confusion. "What do you mean? Isn't the whole point to grant her wish? Te Fiti would no longer want this wish granted. You can ask her yourself."

"How she feels now is irrelevant. The wish has been made. Te Fiti herself could appear to me and beg me not to fulfill her wish, and it would be useless. As long as it is within my power, I am obligated to grant it, regardless of what may or may not have changed since then. You are warned to beware of what you wish for, and there is a reason for it. When a wish is made, a star  _must_  grant it, no matter what the circumstances are."

So much for that plan. But it made Moana realize that Hika may not be an evil monster after all. He was trapped by the conditions of Te Kā's wish, forced to grant it whether he wanted to or not. He was just as much a victim as she was.

"So what now?"

"Now," the star replied, "we wait." He looked around. "Do you not like this island? It may be small, but I've always thought it was quite beautiful. I do hope you like it since you will never leave it."

No way was that happening. She'd spent most of her life stuck on an island; she wasn't about to spend the rest of it stuck on a different one. "Do you really plan on keeping me here forever?"

He gave her a curious look. "Forever? No, not forever; just for the remainder of your life. However long that will be depends on Maui."

Her eyes narrowed. For some reason, she sensed that he wasn't going to hurt her, at least not right now. "What's that supposed to mean?"

A chuckle escaped him. "It's the condition of the wish, my dear. Maui's not just supposed to lose that which he loves most, he's to feel the deepest depths of despair. Tell me, child, do you know what brings the greatest sense of loss?" When Moana didn't answer, he did. "Hope, child. Hope that you can get back what was lost. Maui knows you're alive, or he'll figure it out soon enough. At the very least, he'll seek confirmation of your death. And when he does, and realizes you're still alive, he will come for you, hoping to get you back. Just as Te Fiti emerged as Te Kā, hoping to get her stolen heart back, only to have that hope shattered as it sank into the ocean, forever out of her reach. Maui will come for you as well, only to fail, to know that he'll never be able to save you, and his hope of getting you back will be crushed."

Moana refused to accept that as a possibility. "And how will he even know where to find me?"

Hika grinned in an unsettling manner. "He is Maui. He will find a way. And when he does, and his hope to save you is torn away, that is when he will know the deepest sense of loss." He stared at Moana hard. "When he helplessly watches as I kill you in front of him."

He said it so nonchalantly, and he appeared to be smiling as he said it. Moana realized that it was the darkness. The darkness Te Kā had filled him with to allow him to survive. It had to be; stars were completely neutral in all things otherwise. It was highly likely, almost expectant, that his personality was being affected from being filled with that much darkness and hate.

"Enjoy the island," Hika told her, and stalked off, disappearing into the tress once more.

Moana remained where she was, feeling rooted to the spot. This was  _not_  how she thought this day was going to go. Kidnapped by a monstrous falling star, just to wait to die for some stupid out-of-date wish. No way. She was not going to just sit down and take this. She wasn't some damsel in distress. She was Moana, chieftess of the wayfinding colony. There was no way she would just sit around and wait to die, or be rescued. She would get out of here herself, and no corrupted star was going to stop her.

She looked down at her pets. Pua was still shaking in fear, and there was a wet spot in the sand underneath him. Heihei seemed clueless as always, staring off into the distance as if in a daze.

"Come on, you two," she told them. "We've got work to do."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

The boat was ready. Along with Maui, it would hold only one more thing, and that was an enormous pile of rope.

The colony had done as the demigod requested, gathering up as much rope as they could and tying the ends together. The pile now stood several times taller than Maui. He hoped it would be enough, but it was all they had.

"Why the rope?" Tui asked, eying the pile curiously.

"It's a long story," Maui told him, "and very complicated. If I tried to tell you the statistics of how it would work for what I need it for, your brain would melt in your skull."

Tui looked confused, but didn't question him further on the matter; Maui knew things far beyond the understanding of a mere mortal. "What about food? Water?"

Maui had refused to take any food, and the small boat was so full from the rope pile that there was no room for a desalination system. "I can get all the food I need from the ocean, but I'll take a barrel of water. If I run out, I can get more by chewing on a fish." He received weird looks at this. "What? You didn't know that chewing on a raw fish will get you fresh water?"

"To be honest, no," Sina replied. "If it doesn't rain for a while, we desalinate sea water."

Maui shrugged. "That works too. In all likelihood though, this boat probably won't survive the journey; you saw what Hika did to the others here. I'll just turn into a whale or something and give Moana a ride back. Destination is still the same, right? Moana and I will meet you there."

Tui nodded. "We cannot thank you enough, Maui."

The demigod looked away as he settled in the boat. "Don't thank me. I'm just cleaning up a mess I made."

With that, he set sail. There was another reason he was taking a boat. The place he was heading for couldn't be reached by flying. But as he told Tui, it was why he needed the rope. Now he just had to get in a better position and wait for nightfall.

As he sailed along, he thought back on everything his actions had caused. His one stupid mistake had caused so much trouble. He hadn't thought taking Te Fiti's heart would cause  _that_ much of a problem. The goddess was always asleep anyway, her consciousness being in a state of semi-awareness of the world. He'd thought she'd just keep on sleeping, not rise up as Te Kā, not have her life-giving power turn to darkness and decay, and he certainly hadn't expected to have her catch a falling star and make such a cruel wish.

But all that had happened, and now he had to deal with the consequences. Hopefully, once he took care of things with Hika, his past mistakes would finally be put to rest. But that posed the question, how exactly was he supposed to fight a star? Stars were the mightiest, most powerful, highest ranking non-divine beings. They even ranked above demigods. And while Hika was slowly dying, giving Maui an advantage, he was empowered by Te Kā's darkness. Maui didn't know how he would be able to compete with that.

Perhaps his friend would be able to help, or at least give him some advice. It was his best chance at finding a way to save Moana. And he  _would_  save her, no mater what. She may be a mortal, but she was easily worth ten of him. Failing to save her was  _not_  an option.

A snort of laughter escaped him. "Knowing her, she'll have probably saved herself by the time I get there."

Glancing back, he looked at the pile of rope behind him. He hoped it would be enough. If it wasn't, he didn't know what he would do. But it had been all the rope the colony had had. Based on the size of the pile, it should be plenty, but he'd rather have more than not enough.

As he looked at the pile, a portion of it shifted. Maui's eyes narrowed curiously. That wasn't due to the movement of the boat. He raised his hook, ready to bring it down, and slowly reached out.

Something struck his hand, and he pulled it back with a cry of "Ow!" Wapapalu came crawling out of the rope pile and waved his boomerang at the demigod. Maui's eyes narrowed and a frustrated groan escaped him as he stared at the Kakamora. "Oh, great. What are you doing here, coconut?"

Wapapalu began jabbering in his own language, which, unfortunately, Maui was able to understand. It seemed as of the pygmy pirate had gotten the crazy idea that he was going to save the day.

"No, ok, just, no," Maui told him. "You are not going to do anything of the sort." He groaned again. "Now I have to babysit you on top of everything." He looked at the horizon. The colony had long since vanished from sight. "Maybe I should fly you back."

Wapapalu shouted his objections, stating how he was going to help fight. Maui just rolled his eyes at this. "Yeah, sure, right. You're going to fight. Hika would crack you open in an instant. Hate to break it to you, pipsqueak, but you're way out of your league. Heck, I'm out of my league, but at least I stand a chance. You'll probably last, like, half a second in battle."

"M'na!" the Kakamora declared in a language that was not his own.

Maui raised an eyebrow at this. "What?"

"M'na! M'na!"

It took Maui a moment to realize that he was trying to say Moana's name. The Kakamora race's vocal cords were different from humans, the same way animals were, making it impossible to speak the same language. Truthfully, Maui was surprised the little guy had managed this much. "Yes, Moana. I'm going to save her. So I don't have time to worry about you."

A growl escaped Wapapalu, and he buried himself in the rope pile again. Maui groaned in frustration and began searching for him, only to have the Kakamora whack the back of his hand with his boomerang again when he got close.

"Ok, fine then," Maui grumbled impatiently. "Have it your way. You want to get yourself killed, then be my guest. Just as long as you stay out of my way."

He sat down and directed the boat in the direction he needed to go. Eventually, Wapapalu poked his head out, and when Maui didn't immediately seize him, he crawled out completely, and took a seat as far away from the demigod as possible.

Maui simply glanced at the Kakamora before seeming to decide to ignore the little creature. Wapapalu did the same, and the two continued to ignore each other as they sailed along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ok, I want to make something perfectly clear. Moana has been kidnapped by a minster and Maui is going off to save her. I know this looks like the stereotypical guys saves girl trope, but that is NOT what's going to happen. I have absolutely no intention of turning Moana into a damsel in distress that needs a big strong man to save her. That is not what's going to happen. Moana is not just going to wait around to be rescues, she's going to fight back and try to find a way to escape herself. I think it's great that she's a strong and independent woman, and I have no intention whatsoever of changing that. Despite what some people think, a woman having a love interest does not make them weak or dependent, and I'm going to show that. As Maui said, she just may save herself before he even gets there. And just what is Maui planning on doing anyway? Guess we'll just have to wait and see.)


	7. A Star's Guidance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Alrighty then. Now that we've gotten to the main plot, we're going to get a bit of back and forth stuff between Moana and Maui, so we'll see what's going on with both of them. When we last left Moana, she was making plans to escape Hika, while Maui was making plans to go save her. Lets check in on both of them.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 6: A Star's Guidance**

It seemed that as long as they had a common goal in mind, both Maui and Wapapalu could tolerate each other's presence without bothering one another too much. Maui hadn't counted on having a stowaway, but Wapapalu didn't require too much taking care of; a single large fish was enough to keep him satisfied for the day, though Maui did place a limit on the amount of water the Kakamora was allowed to drink.

Two days after setting out from the colony, Maui lowered the sail, and the boat simply bobbed in place. "We'll wait here until nightfall."

Wapapalu gave him a curious look from within his coconut and said something in his language. Maui just rolled his eyes in response. "Yes, I'm aware there's nothing here. That's why we need to wait until night."

More gibberish, this time in the form of a question. "Yes, I know what I'm doing. We need to find out where Moana is, and how to beat Hika before anything else. That's why we're meeting my friend, because he would know."

At Wapapalu's response, Maui glared at him. "Hey, cut me some slack, I never faced a star empowered by the darkness of a goddess-turned-fire-demon."

Wapapalu said something else, and Maui groaned in frustration. "Ok, you know what, I'm not going to talk to you anymore."

After that, the two sat in silence as they waited for it to get dark. And when the sun finally sank beneath the horizon, Maui stood up. "Alright then, time to get to work."

Taking the rope, he tied one end to the boat, and the other end to his hook. Wapapalu looked on with interest as Maui looked up at the night sky. Closing one eye, he held up his other hand, as if he were taking aim at something that wasn't there.

Curious, Wapapalu asked what he was doing. Without taking his eye off the sky, Maui replied, "Don't distract me right now; I need to focus."

He began winding up his arm, and then threw his hook into the sky. It went up and up, disappearing into the night sky, before it came back down, splashing into the water a few dozen yards away.

Maui snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Missed."

He looked at the rope pile. After beginning the grueling task of reeling his hook back in, he wound up for a second throw, only to achieve the same result. Wapapalu muttered something and Maui glared at him. "Hey, I'd like to see you try this."

He threw his hook again. This time, however, it did not fall back down, but seemed to have latched onto something high up in the sky too far up to see. Maui beamed and punched the air. "Boom! Third time's a charm."

He looked up at the sky to make sure his aim had been true. From his point of view, it looked as if the rope was hanging down from a star in the sky. That was exactly what he needed. His hook was so high up that he could not see it, but based on the position of the rope, he knew he had hit his target.

Turning to Wapapalu, he gave the Kakamora a salute. "Catch ya later, coconut. Keep the boat safe. I'll be back."

Wapapalu crossed his arms and muttered something in his language. Completely ignoring the demigod, he jumped onto the rope and began climbing. Maui raised an eyebrow at this before sighing and shaking his head. There would be no point in arguing with the little creature, even though he knew he would never be able to complete the climb.

Taking hold of the rope, he too began climbing. He caught up with Wapapalu in no time, coming right up underneath him. Wapapalu ended up hitching a ride on Maui's shoulder, hanging onto his hair so he wouldn't fall off. Higher and higher they rose, disappearing into the sky, the boat lay unattended far below.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Moana was proud of herself. She, with the help of Pua, not so much Heihei, had managed to build a small boat, hidden inside a small shelter she had managed to put up to keep her work hidden from Hika. The boat was crudely put together, but it would be good enough for sea travel.

Built of the thin trunks of young trees roped together by vines, and sails made of palm tree leaves she had woven together by strips of bark and long blades of grass, she thought she had done a very good job for having been at work for several days and nights. She was utterly exhausted and sleep deprived, but it seemed her hard work had finally paid off.

She glanced at the jungle, searching for any signs of Hika. The fallen star had left her alone since he had spoken with her, leaving her to her own devices. It was unsettling to think about, but Moana theorized that he was leaving her alone so she could enjoy the last few days she had left to live. Though she hadn't seen him since he had brought her here, she could hear him crashing around through the trees from time to time.

She was just about ready to head out. She'd just finished loading the last of the coconuts she had gathered. Hopefully, she had enough to last until she reached another island. Even if that island was deserted, it would be better than remaining here with a monster that planned on killing her.

"Ok, guys, ready?" she asked. Pua oinked in the affirmative while Heihei simply cocked his head to the side before he began randomly pecking the deck of the boat. "Ok, here we go."

She began pushing, sliding the boat out of the shelter. The trail of branches she had laid in front of the boat made it easier to push. It was still tough work, and she wished it weren't low tide right now, but it was moving, and she would make it eventually.

A roar came from the jungle, and Hika suddenly came bursting through the trees. He saw her, and her boat, and roared again. Leaping into the air, he glided over to her. Moana quickly realized that she wouldn't make it to the ocean in time. Abandoning her boat, she grabbed Pua and Heihei and took off as Hika opened his mouth and unleashed a beam of plasma. The boat was immediately incinerated, and the sand beneath it solidified into glass from the heat.

"No…" Moana whispered, staring at the burning remains in despair as they crumbled to ash. Days of work, ruined. And now she was right back to where she'd started from.

Hika turned to her. "I admire your determination and refusal to give up. However, it is useless. Did you really think I was not aware of what you were doing, even if you tried to hide it inside that little shelter? Nothing escapes a star's gaze."

Refusing to show fear, Moana stood up straight. "You're hardly the star you were before. Look at you, you're not even a fallen star, you're a corrupted monstrosity."

A growl escaped Hika, and he looked irritated. "You're a clever one. Perhaps too clever. I'd planned on letting you enjoy your final days, but now I think I need to take better precautions."

A tendril of darkness shot out from his body and wrapped around her. Moana cried out as she was lifted into the air, kicking and screaming. "Let me go, you big ugly freak! Let go!"

"In a moment, child."

He opened his mouth and unleashed a beam of plasma. Sand went flying, and then hardened into glass. When he was finished, a crater of glass several feet deep and several feet wide was on the beach. He brushed a pile of sand onto the bottom of the crater and dropped Moana into it. She was grateful for the sand, as she could feel the heat from the glass emitting through it; she would have been badly burned had she been dropped into the crater without it. But now she was very obviously trapped.

"Hey!" she cried. "Get me out of here!"

Hika poked his big ugly face over the hole. "I'm afraid I can't do that. You're far too troublesome. You'll just have to spend the next few days down there." He tossed some coconuts down to her. "These will let you get by until Maui comes."

Enraged, Moana grabbed a coconut and threw it up at him, missing by several feet. "I'm not going to die here!"

"But you are, child," the star replied matter-of-factly. "Accept it. Once you acknowledge the inevitable, you can come to terms with it and enjoy your remaining time. You cannot escape your fate, just as I cannot escape mine. This pit shall be your tomb. I suggest you get comfortable."

He stalked off. Moana let out a scream of frustration. She looked around, estimating that she was maybe 20 feet down, the walls solid glass. She carefully touched it, and immediately pulled her hand back as the still heated glass burned her.

Popping her burnt finger into her mouth, she began examining the crater of glass, trying to find which area at the too was lowest. The glass wouldn't stay hot forever, and once it cooled, she would attempt to climb out. Her plan to sail away may have failed, but she was nowhere near ready to give up yet.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Maui wasn't sure how long he had been climbing. A few hours at least. But this was no ordinary climb, this was one only someone who had a fundamental understanding of magic and how it pertained to reality would be able to comprehend things and be able to pull them off.

A feat like this would only worked for those like him who truly understood the order of the mystic and knew how to use it to their advantage. He was using it now. Sometimes, one's point of view or perception could be used to transcend reality, bending it in such away that it allowed them to get around certain rules. It was just like how he had lassoed the sun to stretch the days thousands of years ago. He had done so in a way that the humans in the far future would deem impossible based on how they perceived the sun as being a giant ball of burning gas millions of miles away from the earth.

Humans really were silly when it came to such things. They thought that just because they learned something or understood how something worked that they knew everything there was to know about it and that there was nothing mystical about it. It was no wonder they were so ignorant. Magic was all around, even if they didn't know it. Moving the sun had been a prime example of how magic could be used. With just a bit of magic, and the way one could perceive things, he had used his hook and rope to wrap it around the bright orb in the sky to reposition it. In fact, he had a tattoo of a the very event on his body.

This was more or less the same concept. Had he attempted this based on how the way things "really" were, it would have been impossible. He knew that the star he had hooked onto was actually billions of miles away, but while on the boat, he could make it look like he had thrown his hook so high up that it had vanished from view, its path heading for the star, and he had been able to go with that concept based o what he visually perceived.

Now, here he was, hanging who knew how high in the sky. Looking down, he could no longer see the boat; it had faded from view. Thus he could not see the end of the rope at either end. That was good, it meant that he was halfway there. Now, going by this reality bending concept, he could now work on getting closer to the star rather than farther away from the boat.

Wapapalu said something when he had paused, and Maui nodded in acknowledgment. "We're making good time, just hang on."

He began climbing again. Now that he could no longer see the ground moving away from him, he could see the star moving closer. He was glad because he was beginning to get rope burn. He may have accelerated demigod healing and stamina, but not even he was immune to physical injury or eventual fatigue. It was a reminder of why he didn't visit stars more often.

At long last, he reached his destination. Above him was what appeared to be a large circular platform of light. His hook was latched onto the platform, and he climbed up onto it. Despite being made of light, he could stand on the platform as if it were solid ground. Wapapalu hesitated before stepping down onto it and began looking around curiously. Aside from the blinding light, there was nothing else on the platform. The source of the light moved closer, and Maui held up his hand to shield his eyes.

"Maui," a deep and powerful voice spoke, "it has been a while."

Squinting the demigod smiled up at the star. "Hey, Northy, how are you? Bright as always, I see."

An annoyed sigh escaped the star. "I do not appreciate being referred to by that name. I am a grand and powerful star."

"Ah, come on, Northy. You and I go way back. Hey, can you turn the light down a bit, it's kind of hard to see."

A few moments later, the light grew dimmer, and Polaris, the North Star, hovered over Maui. Like all stars, he resembled a will-o'-the-wisp, only with ghostly legs rather than a ghostly tail. He was whitish dim-gold color, a determination of his age, younger stars tended to be blue and older ones tended to be red, while stars in their mid-life tended to be white.

His body was about twice the size of Maui, resembling an upside-down flame shaped into a humanoid form. His head, however, was enormous, several dozen times too big for his body, resembling a giant ball of fire. A face was somewhat visible in the flames of his head that wasn't even attached to his body, but floating an inch or two above his body.

"You're the same as always," Polaris stated, the flickers of flames that served as his arms crossing in front of him.

Maui smirked. "Well, you would know. You see everything that goes on down there."

"Indeed," Polaris replied, floating past Maui to peer over the edge of the platform. "Many things have changed over the past few years."

The demigod rolled his eyes. "Well, yeah. Te Fiti had her heart returned to her. That's gonna impact things."

Polaris turned to him, now looking angry. "You were a fool to take it from her. Was the love of the mortals really worth taking such an essential part of another, even if the consequences of what followed hadn't happened?"

He should have seen this coming. Stars were major sticklers for rules and order. Of course Polaris would have a problem with what he had done. But Maui had been beating himself up for his stupid, reckless, impulsive decision for over a millennium; he didn't need the star rubbing it in.

"Look, I made a mistake, ok. Te Fiti and I already made up. Can you please get off my back about it?"

As quick as lightning, Polaris was in front of him. His light had intensified, and it was suddenly very hot. Maui was very aware of the star's power, and how vulnerable he was here. If he wanted to, Polaris could incinerate him in an instant. In fact, he was already holding back his power just to have this conversation with Maui.

"This will never be off your back!" the star thundered. "Te Fiti having her heart restored is all well and good, but there was damage that could not be undone. Do you know how much Te Kā's darkness destroyed, how many lives it claimed? Not to mention the lives lost from all the monsters that came with it. Even if Te Fiti forgave you, this will  _never_  be off your back, Maui, demigod of the wind and sea."

Maui winced. It was a painful subject, one he tried not to think about. He'd discussed the matter with Moana a few times, and she's attempted to ease his guilt by assuring him that it was not his fault, that his intentions had not meant to be harmful, but still, it was a burden he would carry forever for the indirect impact his actions had had on the world.

Closing his eyes, Maui took a deep breath. "I made a mistake. A mistake I've been trying to make up for. But I can only do so much. I will forever be haunted by the consequences of my actions, and I'm going to have to live with that."

Polaris studied him carefully, as if trying to determine his sincerity. Finally, though, his light dimmed, and the heat lessened as he hovered away. "Indeed you have, and indeed you will. In fact, you are dealing with some of the consequences of your actions right now." He glanced back at Maui. "That is why you have come to me, is it not?"

So they were getting to the heart of the matter now. Good, Maui wasn't interested in beating around the bush. "It's Moana. She was taken by a fallen star called-"

"It was a rhetorical question," Polaris interrupted. "I know the situation. There is nothing that escapes a star's sight." He appeared to be amused as he looked over the edge again. "She is an extraordinary girl. You've chosen a fine mate."

Maui was so caught off guard by Polaris' words that his mouth dropped open. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Northy, hold up. You've got it all wrong. She and I are just friends."

Now Polaris looked amused. "You cannot fool me, Maui. I see all. And Hika senses it as well. It is strange though, for one who has lived so long, you can be such a fool at times. You should listen to the girl's grandmother."

A frustrated groan escaped the demigod, and he slapped his forehead. "You too now? Look, buddy, I didn't come here for a therapy session. I came here for help finding Moana."

The playfulness on Polaris' face vanished. "So you have. However, I'm afraid there is nothing I can do. Hika is bound by Te Kā's wish, and I cannot interfere; despite how I feel about the situation."

This was no surprise. Maui knew that unless granting a wish, no star was allowed to get involved with the granting of another star's wish. And Polaris had many more millennia to go before he fell. Maui knew this, but he wasn't looking for that kind of help. Polaris would still be able to assist him even without granting him a wish.

"Then how about some information?" he asked hopefully. "Can't you just tell me where she is?"

Polaris folded his hands together. "That would require me getting involved in another's wish. Stars may not-"

"Yeah, yeah, I heard you the first time. But if Moana's still alive, then Hika wants me to come for her. I'm just asking you to point me in the right direction. It'll save me a lot of time searching. Come on, be a pal. Help me out."

The star was silent as he considered his request. He seemed to be lost in thought for several long minutes before coming to a decision. "I suppose that under the circumstances, this will be permissible. However, I am curious, what do you plan to do once you find her? You have faced many monsters, but you have never faced a star. And Hika has been infused with the power of Te Kā, whom you have also failed to defeat."

A feeling Maui rarely felt overcame him; bashfulness, and he scratched the back of his head uneasily. "Yeah, um, about that. I was hoping you could give me some advice on that. Giving advice isn't interfering, right? So you can do that. How exactly do I take out a star?"

To Maui's surprise, Polaris began laughing, as if what he had just said were the funniest thing he had ever heard. "Foolish demigod. You cannot kill a star. Stars can only burn themselves out. I'm afraid the only way you'll be able to defeat Hika is to destroy the darkness Te Kā has filed him with. That power is the only thing keeping Hika alive. Without it, he will die."

Maui snapped his fingers. "Cool I'll do that. So how do I do it?"

Now Polaris was glaring at him, no longer looking amused. "You really are a fool, Maui. If you sever Hika from the darkness that consumes him, all the light that has been contained by it will be unleashed. All the power that will come flying out will destroy everything around it in a supernova. Including you."

He crossed his arms and began hovering back and forth. "However, there may be another way. Rather than directly severing Hika from the darkness, you could neutralize it. This will safely disperse his power without any backlash."

Maui raised an eyebrow, not quite sure he understood. "Uh… ok… And how would I go about doing that?"

Polaris turned back to him. "You need enough light to overpower the darkness and absorb his power as it flows out. Only a star can provide that."

Maui resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It felt like they were going around in circles. "And you're not going to get involved, right?"

Polaris once again considered this. "No, I will not directly interfere. However, in this instance, perhaps I could bend the rules a little bit to provide some assistance, since we are  _such_ good friends." He cut Maui off before he could say anything. "However, I cannot do it for free. You must give me something of great value to trade with."

Maui frowned. He hadn't anticipated this. He hardly even owned anything at all. Sure, there were a few things in his hut, but nothing of real value. "Well, I don't have much, but… Oh, how about my necklace?"

He fingered the string of bones around his neck. Polaris merely raised an eyebrow at this. "You would have me trade my light for a necklace?"

The demigod shrugged. "Worth a shot." He tapped his chin in thought. "I know." He grabbed Wapapalu, who had been hiding behind him the whole time, and held the little creature out to Polaris. "How about your very own pet Kakamora?"

Wapapalu began thrashing around in the demigod's grip, spouting protests in his language. Polaris merely gave Maui a bored look, barely acknowledging the Kakamora. "I have no need for such a thing."

Maui casually tossed Wapapalu over his shoulder. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Then I'm afraid I have nothing to offer you."

Polaris gave him a hard look. "Don't you, Maui?" His gaze drifted. "Don't you?"

Maui turned to where the star was looking, and saw his hook latched onto the edge of the platform. It suddenly clicked what Polaris was asking for, and his immediate response was to object. "Whoa! No, uh-uh, not my hook. That is not an option."

Polaris simply shrugged. "Then unless you can offer me something else of equal or greater value, I cannot help you."

Maui threw his arms in the air. "Come on, man. It's my hook. It was a gift from the gods. It's part of who I am."

"And just what do you think my light is? I am already bending the rules to offer you this deal. No other star would even consider it. I'm afraid your hook is the only offer I will accept. Or is your hook more important to you than the girl?"

With a feeling of despair, Maui looked back at his hook. Truthfully, he really did think of his hook as part of himself, so much so that he hadn't even considered it as a possibility to be something he could trade away. But his attachment to it wasn't the only problem.

"How am I supposed to fight Hika without my hook? I'll barely be able to stand up to him  _with_  it."

If he thought this would get any sympathy from Polaris, he was mistaken. "You will just have to make do. Use my light as necessary, but sparingly; for once it goes out, you will not be able to replenish it, and I will not provide more."

He was serious, Maui saw this. If he wanted the star's help, then he would really need to give up his hook. It was a cruel request on Polaris' part, and Maui hoped that it was actually nothing more than a test. But no, he knew better. Stars were very straightforward; they didn't play games like that. If Polaris was asking for his hook, then he really meant it.

Slowly walking over to his hook, he plucked it from the edge of the platform. The rope he had used to climb up was still attached to it, and he gave Polaris a questioning look. "And how exactly am I supposed to get back down without my hook?"

It was a pathetic excuse, and he knew it, but it came from desperation, a last ditch attempt to change the star's mind. However, Polaris didn't falter in the least. "I shall provide you passage back to your boat. Unless, of course, you want to risk jumping."

It was a joke, but Maui was in no mood to laugh. He almost regretted coming here. Almost.

He held out his hook as if it were a priceless treasure, and it was. Getting down on one knee, he held it out to the star. "If this is really the only price you will accept, then fine, just take it."

Polaris gave him a hard look. "You are certain of this?"

"Look, don't beat around the bush. Just take it already."

"I simply want you to be sure of your decision, Maui. You know you will never be the hero you once were without it."

Maui sighed deeply. "Hook, no hook, I'm still Maui." He made a motion for Polaris to take the hook. "Come on already, don't make me suffer any longer."

The star held out his hand. The rope slid off the hook as it floated into the air and over to Polaris. Maui couldn't bring himself to watch as it left him, almost feeling as if a physical part of himself was being torn away. Instead, he tried to think about what he would gain in return. Keep his eyes on the prize, so to speak.

"We have a bargain," the star replied.

He waved his hand, and glittering particles rose from the platform. They came together and formed into a small glass vile. From out of Polaris' head, a tendril of light flowed out and drifted into the vile. Once it was full, the vile was capped, and it floated over to Maui.

Reaching out, he accepted the vile, looking at its contents. The inside seemed to be filled with liquid light. Not a solid substance, but light itself, shining brightly in his hand.

"This vile contains my light," Polaris told him. "Use it to guide you to your beloved, and it will light your way."

Maui chose to ignore the 'beloved' comment. "And Hika? How am I supposed to use it on him?"

"When in close proximity, simply smash the vile. The light will disperse the darkness that consumes him. Without that power, he will die soon after. I would suggest closing your eyes when you do this so you are not blinded."

Maui didn't appreciate the joke, but then realized that Polaris was probably not joking. With the amount of darkness that consumed Hika, the light's intensity would have to be immense. He would have to warn Moana to look away before he used it.

Clutching the vile of light in his fist, he held it up to the star. "Well, thanks for your help, Northy. Even if you did take my hook, it was still good to see you again."

Polaris nodded, ignoring the snipe remark. "I would say the same, but I've always kept an eye on you. I did enjoy being in your company though. Do try to visit again some time."

Maui raised an eyebrow. "And how am I supposed to do that without my hook?"

"I am sure you will find a way. You are Maui after all. Goodbye, my friend."

The light of the platform rose up and closed around Maui and Wapapalu. The Kakamora latched onto Maui's leg in fright, and the two were suddenly falling. They could not see what was happening due to the cocoon of light surrounding them, but it did nothing to stop the feeling of dropping out of the sky.

Maui wasn't sure how long they fell, but eventually the drop slowed down, and then came to a stop. The sphere of light holding them suddenly popped into light particles, and the two of them dropped down onto the boat. It had been an unpleasant way to travel, but it had been a lot faster than having to climb down the rope.

Wapapalu was wobbling. He made a nauseas noise before rushing over to the side of the boat and vomiting, his sick shooting out of the eyeholes of his coconut. Under different circumstances, Maui would have cracked a joke at the Kakamora's expense, but he was too worried about how he was going to save Moana and too upset over the loss of his hook to find humor in anything right now.

"Suck it up, coconut, we've got things to do." He took out the small vile of light Polaris had given him. It glowed brightly in his hand, and he stared at it curiously, wondering what he should do with it. "Ok, so how does this thing work?"

He began waving it around, hoping for some kind of reaction, but it just continued to emit its glow. Maui grumbled impatiently. "He said it'll light the way, but it's not doing anything. How am I supposed to know which way to go? Do I open it? Won't that let the light out, or…?"

He trailed off as he continued to wave it around, and the vile flashed brightly. He moved his hand again, and the light dimmed. Moving it back, it began glowing brighter again. He stopped as it glowed brightly in a specific direction.

"That way?" he asked to no one in particular. "She's that way? Ok then."

He set to work, preparing the boat for sailing. Glancing at Wapapalu, he shoved the vile into his little hands. "Here, coconut, you navigate. We've got our destination."

"M'na," Wapapalu declared.

He nodded. "You bet, little guy." He looked onto the distance, his eyes narrowed. "Hang on, kid, I'm coming."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Ooh, that's a rough one for Maui. Having to trade away is hook like that, and we all know how precious it was to him. But can you really blame Polaris for asking such a high price, he was giving away a literal piece of himself in exchange. Speaking of which, who liked him. It was mentioned in an earlier chapter that Maui was friends with the North Star. I used the concept that you usually see in cartoons of how a character usually reaches off and turns off the sun like it's a light bulb as Maui's method of getting to him. That was the impression I got of what he did in his "Your Welcome" song when he spoke of how he lassoed the sun. But he's not the only one who's been busy. Moana almost managed to escape the island herself. Unfortunately, her plan failed, and now she's literally stuck in a hole. But she's not giving up yet. What's her next plan to escape? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.)


	8. The Last Escape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Last time we left Moana, she was stuck in a hole in the ground, literally. As if that'd stop her. But how is she going to get out of this predicament and escape the island? If it's her, you know she'll find a way. Lets see what happens.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 7: The Last Escape**

So Plan A hadn't worked. Well, there was still an entire alphabet to go through, and then some. In any case, Moana was no quitter, and was not going to give up any time soon.

Of course, being trapped in a glass crater was a bit of a dilemma. She'd tried running up the side countless times, only to slide back down. She'd tried every area, every angle, only to end up with the same result. The only thing she managed to accomplish was getting raw skin on her palms and the soles of her feet.

Up above, Pua and Heihei continued to wander around the pit. Pua looked down at her in despair while Heihei just looked clueless about what was going on. Moana hoped that if she didn't make it out of this alive, she at least wanted them to survive. Would Hika kill them as well, or leave them be since they were not part of Te Kā's wish and had only been caught up in this by accident?

Cracking open a coconut, she drank its milk. At least Hika was courteous. Despite his obligation to kill her, he did not seem to be truly evil. It was that darkness that was corrupting him, and she wandered what he was like before he had been infected by Te Kā's evil.

Pounding the coconut on the ground, she completely broke it in half and began eating its contents. She looked up at her animal friends again and saw that Pua was looking down at her. No, not at her, at the coconut. The poor guy must have been hungry, but had stayed nearby out of loyalty. She offered the pig an appreciative smile and tossed him half the coconut.

Pua trotted over to the coconut and began eating. Heihei wandered over to it as well and hopped onto the coconut. Pua offered a squeal of protest and nudged the rooster. Heihei was too close to the edge of the crater, and he and the coconut he was standing on slid into the glass crater.

Moana rolled her eyes. "Oh, Heihei."

She went over to the rooster and picked him up. The string was still tied to his leg, and it hung down beneath him. Moana's eyes followed it, and she saw that the string went up the side of the glass crater. Pua was sitting right by it at the top.

Moana stood up. Her mind began running as she tried to remember how much length the string had, and how strong it was. If it was long enough, and if it held, she might be able to get out of here.

"Pua," she called up to the pig, "listen, take the string, and wrap it around something." She pointed. "The string, go wrap it around something."

She continued to point and mime what she wanted. Pua was intelligent for a pig, but she wondered how much he actually understood, and if he would be able to do what she asked.

Pua glanced at the string, then at Moana. It seemed he did understand, as he took the end of the string in his mouth and ran for a palm tree. He didn't have too much length to work with, but he was able to wrap it around the tree once.

In the crater, Moana soaked her hands and feet in coconut milk to make them sticky; the friction it added would help her to climb out. She gave the string a yank, and felt it was secure. "Ok, Pua, make sure to pull it tight. Here I go."

She began climbing up the side of the crater. Pua kept the string clenched tightly in his teeth, but Moana's weight still yanked him back. Fortunately, he was pulled against the string and the length of the tree, preventing him from being pulled back. If he could only maintain his grip, and if the string would hold…

Moana was climbing. She was close to the top now, having gone much farther than before. She was almost there, if she could just reach out a little more, she would be able to grab hold, and…

The string went slack as it slipped through Pua's teeth. Moana cried out as she slid down the glass slide to the bottom of the crate. A frustrated growl escaped her, and she grabbed a coconut and threw it out of the crater as she cried out in aggravation.

Pua carefully crept over to the crater and glanced down at her. Moana was breathing heavily as she tried to reel in her anger. She looked up at the pig, seeing his sorry face, and she sighed deeply.

"It's ok, Pua," she called up to him. "Lets try again. This time, be sure to hold on tightly."

The pig squealed and hurried back over to the tree, wrapping the rope around it again and pulling it tight. This time, he was determined not to let go.

Moana gave the string a couple yanks until she was satisfied. This time, she took a running start, going up the side of the crater as much as she could before relying on the string. She went up faster this time, favoring speed over caution. It was a failed attempt, but she tried again, and again. The running starts made it more difficult for Pua, and he nearly lost his grip on the string each time, but kept his teeth tightly clenched.

She was so close, the top was right there, but her weight became too much for Pua, and the string once again was pulled from his mouth. Moana felt the string going slack and leapt for the top. Her fingers dug into sand as her hand finally grasped the rim of the glass crater. The jagged edges dug into her palm, but she ignored the pain as she hung on as hard as she could.

"Good job, Pua," she muttered, wincing as the glass began to draw blood.

She reached up with her other hand to get a better grip. Her feet slid against the glass, trying to gain leverage, the stickiness of the coconut milk on her feet aiding her. She grit her teeth against the pain of the glass digging into her palms as she pulled herself up and out of the crater.

Rolling onto the sand, she flopped down onto her back. She took a few moments to recover her strength, then looked at her hands. There was a cut across each palm from where she had grasped the edge of the crater. No matter, they would heal. The important thing was that she had gotten out of there.

Seeing that she had escaped, Pua ran over to her and began snuggling against her side. Moana smiled down at him and patted his head. "You did a good job, Pua. Thanks for your help."

She looked down into the crater where Heihei was staring at his reflection in the glass curiously. Chuckling, she grabbed the string and reeled him in, wincing slightly from the cuts on her hands. Once she had him in her arms, she hugged the rooster. "And thank you for being so clumsy that we needed to tie you down."

Heihei  _bawked_ , but looked utterly confused. Setting him down beside Pua, she gave the two a serious look. "Ok, now listen closely. We need to find a way off this island. Hika probably thinks he doesn't need to worry about us for a while, so he may not be watching. We should use this to our advantage and make our escape."

She looked to the ocean. There were no other islands in sight, so swimming wasn't an option. She wished she still had the boat she'd built, but it was currently a pile of ashes. She supposed she could make another one, but it would take too long, and she would run the risk of being discovered by Hika. Should she just hide somewhere on the island? No, chances were he would find her with his star vision, or whatever it was he had. That allowed him to see everywhere.

She wished she had a magic hook of her own, then she could turn into a giant hawk and fly away, or some type of sea creature and just disappear into the ocean.

She gasped and looked back at the crashing waves. Of course, she could ask the ocean for help. She knew that under ordinary circumstances, the ocean wasn't allowed to get involved in the affairs of mortals, but these were not ordinary circumstances.

What more, she and the ocean were good friends. It could take her back to her people, or even to a different island where she could build another boat; she knew where her people were going and could get there on her own if need be. Really, anywhere was good, as long as it wasn't here.

"Alright, you two, get ready," she told Pua and Heihei as she gathered them in her arms, "we're getting wet."

She began heading for the water. She hadn't gone more than ten feet before she heard a roar. Turning around, she saw the trees shifting as something moved towards them, getting closer to her. She hadn't seen or heard a trace of Hika since he had dropped her in that glass crater hours ago. For him to make himself known now was no coincidence; he knew she had gotten out.

She made a dash for the water as she heard Hika burst through the trees. A stream of darkness flowed over her head and came down in front of her, cutting her off from the ocean. It reformed into Hika, and the star roared at her. Moana skidded to a halt and ran back the other way, away from the beach and into the trees.

Hika snarled and bounded after her, tearing his way through the trees as a solid mass. Moana made sure to make the chase as difficult for him as possible as she ran through the thickest areas. She made sure to keep the beach in her line of vision as she looked for an opportunity to make a break for the ocean.

Hika tore his way through the trees as he stalked after the girl. His size worked against him as it made it difficult to move through the trees. His star vision allowed him to see her no matter where she went, but she was certainly making it difficult for him.

Moana kept running, feeling Hika gaining on her. She heard him roar and breath deeply, and knew what was coming. Throwing herself down, she pressed Pua and Heihei to the ground as a beam of plasma soared over her head, incinerating the trees. A part of her mind registered that Hika had targeted the area above her head so he wouldn't hit her, simply remove the trees so he could get to her better. That was good actually, as it reminded her that he had no intention of killing her. Not yet anyway. He was waiting to do that in front of Maui, after he made sure the demigod knew he had failed to rescue her.

"I don't need rescuing," she hissed to herself. "I can rescue myself."

Standing up, she now found most of the area to be cleared of trees. The stumps stretched up from the ground to about a foot or two above her head, the tops smoking. It gave Hika a nearly clear path right to her.

But then she spotted something. Up ahead, the cleared out forest gave way to a cliff that led out into the ocean. If she could make it there, she could leap into the water and have the ocean carry her away. But could she make it there before Hika caught her?

A bright light fell over her, and she turned to find the star's gaze locked on her. He seemed to realize what she was thinking and a growl escaped him. "Don't try it."

Oh, she was going to try it. Grabbing hold of Pua and Heihei, she ran for the cliff. Hika roared and stormed after her, his jaws snapping. His mouth was big enough that he could easily swallow her whole, but Moana knew his intentions were not to hurt her, not without Maui there to bear witness. It was ironic that the very wish that put her in this situation was now protecting her.

She ran for all she was worth, coming up to the edge of the cliff. A shadow fell over her, and she jumped for it, just as the darkness began to grab her. Gravity was faster, and she plummeted towards the water. Rocks protruded from the surface as she fell, and she ran the risk of hitting one.

She was lucky though, and splashed into the water, unharmed. Even beneath the surface, she could hear Hika's roar of frustration. It was difficult to swim with Pua and Heihei in here arms, but she kicked to the surface with all her might, and finally managed to take a breath of fresh air.

"Ocean!" she called. "Get us out of here! Please!"

Almost immediately, she felt an invisible force grab her. It was the same sensation she felt when leaving Maui's island when he had attempted to make off with her boat, and she had suddenly been yanked through the water at top speed. It was happening again. She had done it; she'd gotten away.

Hika snarled in frustration and leapt off the cliff. He did not go after her though, but instead flew back to the beach. Turning to the ocean, he roared loudly, and a powerful shockwave erupted from his body.

Moana kept a firm grip on Pua and Heihei as the ocean pulled her along. Then, all at once, the pull stopped, and she was left floating in the idle of the ocean. Suddenly, another force began pulling her, dragging her back the way she came. It wasn't like before, when it felt like the ocean was holding her and pulling her along, rather it was as if the water itself was being pulled, and she had the misfortune to be trapped in it.

Her lungs were burning from lack of oxygen, but she was suddenly granted a reprieve as she broke the surface, the ocean all but spitting her out. She flopped down on the sand as she landed on the beach, and Pua and Heihei went flying from her arms.

She coughed as she attempted to catch her breath and sat up, wiping sand off her face. The sound of heavy breathing was heard, and she looked up to see Hika looking down at her. A shiver of fear ran through her, but she refused to show that she was afraid and held her ground.

"You're rather resourceful, child," the star told her. "Using your friendship with the ocean to try and escape. Very impressive. However, you made an error. The moon and stars hold power over the ocean. We control its sway. You'll never be able to escape me through the ocean; whether you sail on it or swim in it."

Moana's fists clenched, sand slipping between her fingers. So the ocean was never an option for her. Was there really no way for her to get off this island? Did Hika really have that much power? It just couldn't be. She refused to believe that there was nothing she couldn't do.

A chuckle escaped the star as he seemed to guess what she was thinking. "You're trying to come up with another escape plan, aren't you? I admire determination, but it really is hopeless for you. Give it up."

She refused, and she refused to let herself feel intimidated. Getting to her feet, she stood at her full height before the star. "I am Moana of Motanui. I have sailed across the sea, rescued the demigod Maui from his island prison, descended into the depths of Lalotai, faced down the monster crab Tamatoa, stood face-to-face with Te Kā, restored the heart of Ti Fiti, and returned my people to their rightful roles as voyagers. I will not sit idly by as some helpless prisoner."

Hika nodded in acknowledgment at her claims. "A fantastic resume, for sure. However, you are out of your league." He began circling her, much like a shark circled its prey before striking. "We all have our limits, and you have reached yours. You have some impressive accomplishments, and have done some feats no other mortal has ever managed to do, but you can not match a star."

She stood her ground, keeping her eyes on the fallen star. "So what now? Are you going to put me in another hole, or some other prison?"

Hika stopped circling her, and studied her with interest. "No, there is no need. I sense a change in your resolve now that you know there is no escape." His eyes narrowed. "But you have not given up yet either. I don't know what you are planning, but you should give up and enjoy your remaining time."

Moana glared right back at him. "If I'm allowed to spend my remaining time however I want, then I'll spend it trying to escape the conditions of this stupid wish."

An aggravated snarl escaped the star. "You truly are infuriating. Far more trouble than this wish is worth."

"Then just let me go."

Hika slammed a starfish-like limb on the ground. "I can't!" he thundered. "What do you not understand about that? I am bound to this wish, obligated to grant it just as a genie would be. I can no more disregard this wish than you can stop breathing."

Moana stared him down for a few moments before her eyes narrowed. She took a deep breath and held it, giving the star a pointed look.

An amused yet frustrated snarl escaped the star. "You're a cheeky thing." He turned away. "Hold it if you want, but eventually you'll be forced to take another breath; whether you want to or not. Either you'll give in to the urge, or you'll pass out, and your body will resume breathing on its own. The circumstances may be different, but the outcome is the same for me. This wish  _will_  be granted. Nothing can stop it. Then I can finally rest in peace."

His words struck something in Moana, and she let out the breath she had been holding. There had been almost a… longing in his voice. He almost sounded sad.

"You… want to die?" she asked carefully.

Hika looked back at her, a somewhat surprised expression on his face. "There are few who truly wish to die, child. But being ready to die, that is something different entirely." He leaned in close, his big ugly face coming right up to Moana. "I knew my time was coming. I'd known it for centuries. Coming to terms, accepting, and being ready for our immanent death is something we stars have a lot of time to do. And when I fell, I was indeed ready, ready to be free of the burdens of this world. I knew there was a possibility that I could be caught, but it shouldn't have mattered. I should have been able to grant my catcher's wish and then rest in peace."

He lifted his head away from her. "But when Te Kā caught me, even with my star vision, could not have seen the outcome. By rights, I should have been able to grant her wish. But then she filled me with her power, her very darkness keeping me alive in a way that was unnatural, fueling my life force so that I would be able to grant her wish when the time came. And so, for over 800 years, I have lived with this; this anger, this hatred, this darkness, this  _pain_!"

He snarled viciously and moved closer again. Moana backed away on reflex as the star's face came uncomfortably close. "My life has become an unnatural series of circumstances that go against the very laws of nature, and yet I am bound by them until the wish is fulfilled. There is no escaping this fate, human, not for you, and not for me. Maui will come, he fill fall, and you will die before his very eyes. Only then will all this be over. I am trying to do you a kindness by letting you wander around freely during your remaining time, but if you do something foolish again, like attempt to escape, or do anything else to make my burden more troublesome, then I will trap you in the very darkness that consumes me, and you can spend your remaining time in this world as a prisoner of the darkness, just like me."

Another snarl escaped him as he turned around and stormed into the trees. Moana remained frozen in place for several seconds before her legs finally gave out and she dropped to her knees. That had been terrifying. She half-expected Hika to kill her right then and there, but realized that the conditions of the wish would not allow him to.

In spite of what he had done, she felt bad for the star. He was a victim of Te Kā's hatred. They all were. And hatred could only bring pain.

She wondered just how much Hika was suffering. She couldn't imagine what it must be like to be infected with such darkness. All because of Te Kā's wish. Was there really no way to undo it, or to set him free, maybe replace the wish with a different one. Hika claimed there wasn't, not as long as it was in his power to grant, and she supposed that he would be the expert on it.

"These rules are stupid," she grumbled. "Whoever made them needs to reconsider them."

But even if there was no way to release Hika from the conditions of Te Kā's wish, Moana still had no intention of just giving up. It seemed as if getting away was truly impossible though. That meant she had to rethink her strategy. And if escape wasn't an option, and hiding wasn't an option, then that left her with only one option.

She would have to fight.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

They were getting close. Maui could feel it. He didn't know how long they had been sailing or where they were going; he simply followed the guiding light Polaris had provided him.

They'd past a few islands along the way. Every time he had caught sight of one, Maui had tensed up in anticipation for the upcoming fight, only to have the island float by as the light guided them past it. One time, the light had actually led them onto an island. Maui and Wapapalu had thought that this was it as they ran across the island, only for the light to lead them all the way to the other side, and to point out to the ocean once more. The island had simply been in their path of travel.

But they really were getting close. There was nothing but open-ocean all around, but Maui could feel it in his bones. The end of their journey was coming, as was the final battle.

Maui really hoped Polaris' light would succeed in purifying Hika. If it didn't work, he had no idea how he would defeat the star without his hook. He still couldn't believe Polaris demanded it as payment, but he would have made the trade again if necessary. Besides, he trusted his friend; if Polaris said his light would work, then it would work; stars were not allowed to lie after all.

Their food supply had run out, and Wapapalu's stomach was growling. He began complaining to Maui, but the demigod did his best to ignore him. He was hungry too, but he was, in what many generations later would come to call 'the zone', and didn't want to stop for anything. Eventually though, the Kakamora's complaints began to irritate him, and he reluctantly decided to stop.

"Alright, I'll get you something to eat! Just shut up already!"

That would be easier said than done. He hadn't brought a spear, a net, or any fishing equipment. And without his hook, he couldn't transform. Meaning he had to catch the fish with his bare hands.

Marching over to the side of the boat, he looked down into the water, wondering how he was supposed to do this. Were there even any fish nearby? He didn't want to waste time swimming around aimlessly, hoping he could find something he could catch.

A sigh escaped him, and he rubbed the back of his head in frustration. "Hey, Ocean, I know you're really not supposed to interfere, but can you do me a solid and rustle us up some grub? It would really save us a lot of time. Come on, be a pal."

He waited by the edge of the boat for several long seconds. Nothing happened, the water simply splashed up against the side of the boat. His expression shifted to a scowl, and a frustrated growl escaped him as he realized that the ocean wasn't going to help him.

"Oh, come on!" he complained. "You totally have it out for me! I ask you for one little favor, and you can't even-"

A geyser erupted from the ocean, spraying Maui in the face and knocking him back. He fell over, and Wapapalu began laughing at him. Several fish rained down from the geyser, piling up on the boat. Wapapalu gave a joyful hoot at their new bounty as Maui sat up and gave the ocean a look of irritation.

"Thanks a lot," he grumbled, sounding far from grateful. In response, the ocean sprayed water in his face.

Rubbing the water out of his eyes, Maui told himself to let it go, and just be grateful for the ocean's help. At least Wapapalu would stop complaining now. In fact, the Kakamora had already grabbed one of the fish and pulled it into his coconut, where he began eating. Maui decided to fill his stomach as well so he wouldn't be hungry or low on energy for the upcoming battle. He didn't want to waste time making a fire and cooking the fish though; it wasn't too bad raw.

"Eat fast, coconut," he told the Kakamora. "After this, we're heading non-stop to our destination."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Maui and Wapapalu are getting close to their destination, and they better hurry up. Moana has made the very bold decision to fight back. But how exactly is she going to fight a monster like that without any power? You'll have to stay tuned to find out.)


	9. Moana's Last Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: Things didn't exactly go as planned for Moana the last time she tried to escape, so now she's decided to fight back. But how can a mere human fight against a corrupt star? Read on to find out.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 8: Moana's Last Stand**

Moana wiped the sweat from her forehead as she finished the finishing touches. She had worked tirelessly for hours on end, not stopping to eat or sleep. Pua and Heihei had helped, as much as they could anyway, and now it was finished.

She turned her eye to the forest. She knew that Hika was somehow aware of her presence, likely due to the circumstances of Te Kā's wish, and he would reappear to stop her if she tried to leave the island again. As long as she didn't make any escape attempts, he seemed content to leave her alone.

Well, she hadn't been making any escape attempts, not yet anyway. That would come later, after she had dealt with Hika. Truthfully though, she doubted much, if any, of her plan would work at all, but she couldn't stand to just sit around and do nothing. Now, as crazy as this was, it was time to put her plan into action.

"Ok," she told her two pets as she placed them out of harm's way, "you two stay here. I'll come back if this works."

Pua gave a worried squeal as she began to walk away, but Heihei began to follow her. "No, Heihei, you stay here." The rooster just looked confused, like always, and went after her again. "Heihei, no, bad rooster." She picked him up and set him down beside Pua. "Stay. Staaaay."

He did at first, but as she started walking away, he followed after her again. Moana sighed and picked him up. She laid him down on his side, then picked up Pua and sat him down on top of the rooster, affectively pinning him down. "Stay."

Heihei cocked his head to the side as she walked away. Pinned down on his side, he began moving his legs in an attempt to walk, and seemed confused as to why he wasn't going anywhere. Moana paid no more mind to the rooster as she made her way down the beach.

Taking a deep breath, she got ready. "Ok, lets go."

She took off, running full speed to the ocean. It must have looked as if she were making a dash for the water in another attempt to be carried away. However, it was a ploy. She knew there would be no escaping Hika this way with the power he had over the ocean, but that was not her plan; this was just an act to draw him out.

Right on cue, she heard it, the sound of the fallen star crashing through the trees. He burst out onto the beach and went after her, the ground shaking with each impact of his starfish-like limbs.

"You were warned!" he thundered. "You were warned!"

Yes, she was, and it was apparent that he would reach her before she got to the water, and so she changed direction, heading instead for the area of the beach where large rocks stuck out of the sand. Hika was right behind her, closing in fast. Good, that was just what she wanted.

Up ahead, there was a long plank of tree bark she had peeled from a tree. It now rested at an angle over one of the rocks. She jumped up and came down on the end of the plank sticking into the air. The plank acted as a seesaw, its other end shooting up as Moana's weight brought the other end down. The pile of sand and broken shells she had placed on the one end shot up from the momentum, throwing the entire pile into Hika's face.

The star stopped and roared as he began shaking his head violently. A sigh of relief escaped Moana. The trap had worked. She had actually been afraid that the plank would snap in half when she jumped on it due to the weight of the sand, even after all the times she had tested it out. It also seemed that Hika could actually be harmed physically after all. She remembered how her people's weapons had simply passed straight through him, but it seemed that he had to make the conscious effort to make that happen.

But this was just the first stop. There was more to come, and she quickly made her way to the next location.

Hika was seething. He hadn't expected her to try something like that. She was a clever one indeed, but she would pay for it. He had given her the option of doing what she wanted as long as she did not try to escape, and he had warned her of what would happen if she tried. This, he considered to be an escape attempt.

She was running from him, heading for the trees. Did she think she could hide from him? There was no hiding from a star. He would see her wherever she went, especially due to the circumstances of the wish.

He stormed after her, quickly closing the gap. Then, suddenly, the ground collapsed beneath him. A surprised cry escaped him as he dropped into the very glass crater he had stuck her in earlier. He couldn't believe it, she had actually laid down long sticks across the top, placed palm tree leaves over it, and then covered them with sand, and lured him over it.

Had that been the purpose of giving him a face full of sand? So she could sneak around the crater without him seeing her do so? Not that it would slow him down for long; he was too big for that. The crater was nothing more than a little hole that he stepped into.

Still, it allowed her to get ahead of him and disappear into the trees. He could still see her through all the trees, and he went after her.

Moana had familiarized herself with the area. She was coming up to the next trap she had set, and she got in position. Her eyes darted up to the large log hanging in the air from several vines. It had taken a long time to get that up there, and she had been exhausted when the job was done, but it would be worth it. Or so she hoped. She might even be able to knock him out.

Well, here was the moment of truth. Hika was closing in. As soon as she was in position, she kicked the stick that was wedged between two trees, releasing the vine that had been tied to it. Without its support, the log fell free and dropped down towards the star.

She miscalculated. The log came rolling down, nearly hitting Hika's head, but in the end, it missed its target. Hika still came to stop though, looking at the fallen log in surprise, then back at Moana.

"Nice try, child, but you missed."

That one, perhaps, but Moana had other tricks up her sleeve. As Hika got closer, she kicked another support stick. From up above, a giant net made of vines crudely woven together dropped down, falling over Hika. The star roared in annoyance and began tearing himself free, but Moana was already making her next move.

Grabbing a vine hanging down, she gave it a yank. From up above, a series of tree branches that had been tied together came free. An avalanche of coconuts she had gathered that had been held back by the branches came falling down. They bounced off Hika's head, but seemed to be more of an annoyance to the star than anything.

"You are playing on my last nerve," he growled angrily.

"Then… how about… this…"

Moana had crawled up into the trees. There was a reason she had chosen this place to make her stand. A large tree had fallen over, and was resting against the one she was currently in. She had placed herself between the two, and was now pushing against the tree that was still standing to try and shift the fallen tree. Her face turned red from the effort as her legs pushed against the fallen tree.

A creaking was heard as the tree shifted, and finally fell free. Hika roared as it fell, coming down right on top of him. Moana wasted no time. As soon as the tree had begun to drop, she was climbing down. She jumped down the last few feet and rushed to another tree. Here, a thick tree branch had been pulled back to the point of snapping, and tied in place with a vine.

Moana took her position and called out to the star. "Hey, Hika!"

Still stuck beneath the tree, Hika turned to her. She grabbed the vine holding the tree branch and bit through it. The tree branch snapped back to its original position, striking Hika in the face so hard it broke. Moana was off again, heading for the beach, and her last trap.

"ENOUGH!" Hika roared.

His body broke down into a shapeless mass of darkness and rose into the air. He began flying over the trees after Moana as she headed back to the beach. She put on a burst of speed as she made it clear of the trees. Now out in the open, Hika came back down and reformed. He was done playing nice, and roared loudly.

Gravity shifted, and everything in the vicinity was suddenly drawn towards the star, including Moana. She clawed at the ground, her fingers digging into the sand, but there was nothing to grab onto as she was dragged along by an unseen force until she was lifted off the ground entirely and pulled towards the star.

A tendril of darkness shot out of Hika's body and wrapped around Moana. The gravity suction dropped as Moana was brought up to the star. He was furious, and Moana knew she was in trouble as the light shining from Hika's eyes sockets shined on her, and she had to squint to see.

"You bit the hand that feeds you, child," Hika snarled at her. "I was very generous to you, and you attack me?"

Holding up a hand to block the light, Moana glared at him. "You expect me to be grateful that you're willing to let me do whatever I want before you  _kill_  me, after you  _kidnapped_  me, and  _trapped_  me on this island. Bite the hand that feeds me? More like bite the hand that caged me."

Hika growled. "It could have been much worse. I could have made these last few days  _very_  unpleasant for you."

"I'm not going to just wait for you to kill me, no matter what free reign you give me."

The star's eye sockets narrowed. "Well, that freedom is at an end. I tried to be nice, but my generosity is at an end. I warned you what would happen if you tried to escape again."

"Technically, I didn't try to escape."

"Silence! You had your chance. Now you will know the darkness that has consumed me. You may actually want to die by the time your demigod gets…"

His expression changed, and his head turned to the ocean. He stared at the crashing waves for a few seconds before his eye sockets narrowed. "Maui…"

Moana was dropped as the star's full attention focused on the ocean. Ignoring him completely, she too turned her attention in the direction Hika was looking. She searched the sky, but saw no trace of the giant hawk that Maui favored. She wondered if he had instead opted to take the form of a sea creature to sneak up to the island, and instead began searching the waves.

That's when she saw it, a small speck on the horizon approaching the island. It was a boat; she could just make it out. Maui had finally come. She didn't know how he managed to find her, but he was here.

A chuckle escaped Hika. "It looks like you got lucky, child. Or maybe your luck has run out; your time certainly has. Either way, I suggest you start praying to whichever gods you worship, because, very soon, you're going to meet them."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Polaris had not let him down. The vile of light had led him right to Moana. He could see Hika from here, and his fists clenched in anticipation for the upcoming fight. Without his hook, this would be a tough battle, one he hoped he would be able to win.

No, he  _would_  win. He had to. Moana's life was at stake. No matter what happened to him, he would make sure she survived. "Ok, coconut, you keep Moana safe while I fight the big guy."

Wapapalu said something in his language, but Maui paid no mind to it. His fingers played with the vile of light he had tied to his grass skirt. He just had to get close enough to use it on Hika. Then the darkness that had consumed him would disperse. After that, they just had to survive long enough for Hika to kick the bucket, which shouldn't be too long without Te Kā's power fueling him. At least that was the outcome Maui hoped for. Whether he could pull it off or not was the real question.

"Hook, no hook, I'm Maui," he told himself reassuringly. He glanced down at Mini-Maui. Even for a sentient tattoo, the little guy looked nervous, and Maui gave him a smile. "You ready to add another tat, buddy?"

Mini-Maui looked up at him and grinned, giving his counterpart a thumbs-up. Maui nodded back before preparing to bring the boat ashore. Hika was waiting for him, as was Moana, standing beneath the fallen star.

He jumped off the boat the moment it hit the beach, landing several yards away from the other two. He had his warrior face on now, doing his best to look intimidating.

Hika did not look intimidated, or impressed. "So, Maui, you've come at last."

Maui glared up at him. "Was there ever any doubt?" He gave Moana a nod of acknowledgment. "Hey, kid."

She smiled at him. "Hey, yourself. You're late." Then she frowned. "Um, where's your hook?"

"M'na!" Wapapalu cried, charging forward towards Moana.

She blinked in surprise. "Wapapalu?"

Hika roared, and a shockwave erupted from his body, sending the Kakamora tumbling backwards. He retracted his arms and legs into his coconut and ended up rolling back over to Maui.

Moana looked back at the demigod. "Why'd you bring him?"

"I didn't. He stowed away. Said he wanted to save you. By the time I realized he was onboard…"

Moana nodded, having had a similar experience with a certain rooster. "Right, I get it." She smiled. "At least it's nice to know you're both getting along."

Maui shifted uncomfortably. "I wouldn't be too sure of that."

"Nor should you be sure of yourself," Hika growled.

Maui returned his attention to the star. "I know everything, Hika. I know what you are, what happened to you, and why you're doing it."

"Then that will save us some time."

Maui sighed. "Listen, big guy, I understand you have to do this, and I'm sorry it happened to you. But, if you give me a chance, I can make it so we all win. Moana and I can go free, and you can cross over. No one has to get hurt."

Hika lifted his head up higher. "I appreciate the offer, demigod, but I'm afraid it's not an option for me, even if I wanted to accept. You should know how a wish bonds a star to it."

Maui nodded, his hand slowly moving towards the vile of light. "Yeah, I had a feeling you'd say that."

"Then lets not delay this any longer." His eye sockets narrowed. "And I can't help but notice that you didn't answer the girl's question. Where  _is_  your hook?"

A sigh escaped the demigod. "It's gone. No more hook. I traded it away."

Moana's eyes widened. "Traded it away?" she whispered. "But, Maui, why?"

Hika seemed surprised by this as well. "How interesting. You wouldn't trade it away unless it was for something really important." He chuckled. "You must have really love this girl if you gave up your precious hook. But tell me, how do you hope to stop me without it?"

"Who says I need it?" Maui replied. He grabbed the vile of light and held it up. "I've got this!"

The vile flashed brightly. A beam of light struck Hika, and he recoiled from it, a gash now present on his smoky body where the light had touched him. It didn't last long though, as the darkness of his body shifted to close up the injury.

"I recognize that light," he hissed. "All stars know the light of their brethren. That is the light of Polaris. So that's how you found us. I wondered how you would. You traded your hook for his assistance, didn't you? Unless granting a wish, no star would get involved with matters down below unless it was for a high price."

Maui wiggled the vile around almost tauntingly. "You guessed it. I don't need my hook to beat you as long as I've got this. Moana, come over here; he can't hurt you while I've got this."

Moana made a move to go to Maui, but Hika slammed a limb on the ground in front of her, cutting her off. "She's not going anywhere. It doesn't matter if you have the light of a thousand stars, I will still grant Te Kā's wish."

Maui held the vile up higher. "You sure about that? You're going to die either way. Either you grant the wish and die, or I purify you with Northy's light, and you still die, but fail to grant Te Kā's wish. Why not be a good star and just let me use this on you so no one else gets hurt?"

Hika growled. "It seems that not even you understand a star's bond to a wish. Your proposal is not even an option for me. I have no choice in the matter. And not even that little flicker of light can save you."

He opened his mouth, and a beam of plasma shot out. Maui leapt away as he prepared to fight the star. "So much for the talking things out approach. Guess we're going to have to do this the hard way."

"Maui!" Moana shouted to him. "It's not you he wants, it's me! He's not allowed to kill you, just crush your spirit and make you feel as if it's hopeless to defeat him."

The demigod smirked. "Thanks for the info, kid."

"It won't help you," Hika hissed. "I may not be allowed to kill you, but I will still break you. And once you realize that you will never be able to save her and have given in to the despair of utter hopelessness, you be forced to watch her die, just as Te Kā was forced to watch her heart disappear into the depths of the ocean, forever out of reach."

If this was meant to intimidate the demigod, it failed, as Maui's smile just became more arrogant. "Then there's nothing to worry about since that's never going to happen. The only thing that can stop me from trying to save her is my death. And since you can't kill me, well, problem solved."

Hika roared and broke down into a dark mass, flying at the demigod. Maui leapt away as the darkness crashed into the ground. He kept a firm grip on the vile of light, knowing he would only have one shot at this. He had to wait for the right moment.

Hika reformed and roared again, sending out a shockwave. Maui was thrown back before he even managed to stick the landing. He skidded across the sand, getting a nice brush-burn in the process. Moana ran over to him, kneeling by his side worriedly. "Maui, are you ok?"

He groaned as he sat up. "Don't worry about me, kid, I've had worse."

Hika unleashed another plasma beam at the two. Maui pushed Moana away, shouting for her to take cover. He crab-walked away from the beam as it followed after him before doing a backwards cartwheel and leaping away.

On his feet again, he charged at the star. Hika fired another beam, and Maui leapt over it. His hand closed over the vile of light as he closed in, ready to throw it. Then Hika surprised him by firing, not a beam, but a ball of pure plasma. Maui dodged it, and it exploded against the ground, blasting Maui away. He groaned as he lifted himself up, and realized he had dropped the vile. He spotted it several yards away, and made a break for it.

Hika fired another plasma ball, and Maui dodged. This was repeated several times, and Maui realized that Hika was trying to keep him from getting to the vile. He briefly wondered why Hika didn't simply destroy it, and concluded that doing so would unleash the light. Perhaps that would be enough to purify Hika. Maybe he didn't need to get as close as he thought. Now if only he could get to it.

Moana didn't entirely understand the situation, but she understood that the vile of light Maui was trying to get to would somehow help him defeat Hika. And without his hook, he needed all the help he could get. Perhaps she could be of assistance.

It briefly occurred to her that she could use this opportunity to get to the ocean and use it to escape while Hika was distracted, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Even if Hika wasn't allowed to kill Maui, she wasn't going to just run away and leave him behind.

With her mind made up, she ran to her previous destination before Hika had pulled her into his gravity field. The palm tree she came to was bent over to the ground, held down by the vine she had lassoed over the top in order to pull it down. Resting on the top was a large piles of coconuts netted together with more vines. And a few feet away was a fire that burned brightly.

Moana took up the burning branch and dragged it over to the pile of coconuts, setting it ablaze. She looked back at the battle between Maui and Hika. The star wasn't moving much, and he wasn't in position. He needed to be a little more to the left, or her trap would miss.

"Come on, come on," she quietly urged the star. Her eyes darted to the netted coconuts. One of the vines snapped as the fire burned, and the coconuts loosened. In hindsight, she shouldn't have ignited them yet.

Her eyes went back to the fight, and she saw something that made her stomach drop. Heihei was walking cluelessly out in the open, getting caught right in the middle of the battle between Hika and Maui. "Heihei!"

Maui saw the rooster and made a lung for him. He snagged Hiehei and threw him away from the battle. Heihei landed headfirst in the sand, and ended up buried up to his mid-section, his legs still moving as if he were trying to walk. Hika pounced at Maui, but the demigod managed to jump out of the way.

He was in position, Moana realized, and grabbed the vine holding the palm tree down, biting through it. The tree acted like a catapult as it snapped back up to its original position, flinging the flaming netting of coconuts. It flew through the air like a giant fireballs, and struck Hika in the side of the head.

The star snarled as he was hit by the flaming load. It didn't do the amount of damage that Moana had hoped, but it succeeded in getting his attention. Maui used the distraction to his advantage and made a run for the vile of light. He snatched it up and pulled off the top, and the light inside began to flow out.

"Lets brighten things up," he declared, and threw the vile at Hika.

The star's attention shifted back to Maui, and he saw the vile coming at him. With a snarl, he backhanded the vile, hissing as the light seemed to burn his darkness.

"No!" Maui cried as he watched the vile fly through the air. It soared out over the ocean, disappearing from sight. A few seconds later, there was a massive eruption of light in the distance. It was large and intense, and Maui cursed himself for not simply crushing the vile in his hand the moment he had stepped on the beach; that amount of light would have lit up the entire island and been more than enough to purify Hika.

A rumbling chuckle escaped the star as he towered over Maui. "Well, well, well, it looks like your last hope has failed you."

Maui was still staring out at the ocean as the explosion of light died down. His eyes slowly narrowed in determination as he turned back to Hika and cracked his knuckles. "Guess I'll have to do this the old fashioned way."

Hika roared with laughter. "You expect to defeat me as you are? You're but a stronger than average human."

"Stronger," Maui agreed, "faster, more durable. Bring it."

Hika's amusement gave way to irritation. "You fool. You couldn't even beat me with your hook. Without it, you're nothing."

Maui's gaze shifted to Moana, and he smirked. "Wrong, I'm Maui."

He let out a battle cry and charged at Hika, fully intending to fight the star with his bare hands and feet. He leapt through the air, throwing a punch… and was knocked away as Hika backhanded him the same way he had the vile of light. Moana winced for him as he hit the water, skipping across the surface like one would skip a rock. A few seconds later, the ocean returned him to the shore, and he blinked in surprise. "Lets try that again."

He charged forward, and this time Hika rushed to meet him. Hika swiped at him, and Maui jumped up, punching the star in the face. Hika unleashed a shockwave, knocking Maui back, and then fired a beam of plasma. Maui rolled away, and then had to act quickly as Hika snapped at him. He caught the star's upper and lower jaws, using his demigod strength to keep his mouth open. He was vaguely aware that Hika could simply fry him right now with another plasma beam, but remembered what Moana had said about the star not being allowed to kill him.

He somehow managed to prevent Hika's jaws from closing down on him as he let go and did a flip in the air. He came down on Hika's head, and began pounding his fists down on him. Hika shook his head, trying to knock Maui off, but the demigod held onto the spike sticking out of the top of the star's head.

"Ha! What's wrong? Getting a headache? Take this! And that! And this! And that! And-" Hika's body suddenly began intangible, and Maui fell through it and landed on the ground. "Oh, come on, that's not fair!"

Hika knocked him away. Maui went flying through the air, and Hika's body became a shapeless mass of darkness and flew after him. He grabbed hold of Maui, and began slamming him on the ground and dragging him across the beach.

"Maui!" Moana called out worriedly. She knew that as a demigod, he could take much more than a normal human, but just how much could he withstand?

Hika slammed Maui on the ground one last time before releasing him. He took form again and looked down at the demigod in victory. "It's over. You failed to save the girl. This was a hopeless rescue attempt from the beginning." He leaned in closer. "So how does it feel to have what you love most not only torn away from you, but to know that despite your best efforts, you will never be able to get it back?"

A pained groan came from Maui as he forced himself to get up, wobbling about in a daze. "First of all, she's not an 'it'." He shook his head, regaining his senses. "Second of all, who says I failed? I haven't failed. I can't afford to fail. As long as I'm still breathing, I haven't failed."

This was apparently not what Hika wanted to hear, and he snarled at the demigod. "Just give up!" he raged, and Moana almost thought he sounded desperate beneath his anger, almost pleading. "Accept that there's nothing you can do and give into despair!"

But the demigod refused to back down, and he flashed the star an arrogant smirk. "I'm still standing."

The two stared at each other. Hika's expression slowly shifted to one of anger, and he roared furiously. Maui roared back, and charged at the star. Hika unleashed a shockwave, and Maui was thrown backwards by it. He hit the ground face-first, skidding across the beach, receiving another brush-burn and a mouthful of sand in the process.

Sitting up, he spit out the crunchy mouthful and began grumbling to himself. "I know I said that, but I'm at a bit if a loss here." He looked down at Mini-Maui. "I don't know how we're going to pull this one off, bud."

From up above, a light shined down on him. He flinched, thinking it was Hika, almost expecting a beam of plasma to fry him. But no, this was not the red color of the dying star, this was the pure white color of a star in its prime.

He looked up, squinting at the light, and saw something coming down at him. No, not coming,  _falling_. It landed in the sand right in front of him, and Maui blinked in disbelief. His hook was lying on the ground in front of him. It was definitely his hook; he would recognize it anywhere, and magical hooks made by the gods weren't exactly a common thing.

He looked up again, and the light from up above faded away. The North Star shined brightly in the sky, and Maui smiled up at it. "Thanks, Northy."

Grabbing his hook, he stood up and turned back to Hika. The fallen star's gaze shifted to the hook in Maui's hand, and he growled at the demigod. "I thought you said you traded that away."

Maui just flashed him an arrogant smirk. "Guess he didn't want it anymore." He tossed the hook from one hand to the other. "I hope you're ready, big guy, 'cause it's Maui time."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: So it looks like Polaris wasn't so bad after all. Come on, you didn't think I'd make him lose his hook indefinitely, did you? Well, maybe I will; maybe it'll get destroyed in battle. The real fight is about to start now. And speaking of a real fight, wow, Moana held her own pretty well against Hika until the star's power got the best of her. Like I said, she's no damsel in distress. We're getting to the big finish now, so stay tuned.)


	10. Granted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: It's the last chapter. Yeah, I know, I didn't even hit the double digits. Well, I guess I did if you consider the prologue. Still, I think it was a reasonably lengthy story, and this chapter is a rather long one. Gotta wrap everything up, so I guess it'll need to be. Enjoy Maui and Moana's final confrontation with Hika.)
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing.

**Chapter 9: Granted**

Hika started off by firing a plasma beam. Maui transformed into a sparrow and flew along the length of the beam. When he reached Hika's head, he changed back to human and whacked him with his hook. Hika's head snapped to the side and he snarled. Maui changed back into a bird just long enough to regain some altitude before becoming human again and delivering another blow.

This cycle of changing from bird to man repeated several more times before Hika sent out a shockwave that knocked Maui in bird form away. He changed into a blue whale to stop his momentum, and dropped down to the beach. He turned into a rhinoceros and charged at Hika. The star fired another plasma beam, which Maui avoided by turning into a mouse, then back into a rhino to continue his charge.

Hika's body broke down into a shapeless mass and flew at Maui. The two plowed into each other, and Maui was knocked back. He hit the ground hard, and the darkness that was Hika began swirling around him. Maui quickly changed, turning into a skunk, and unleashed a horrible stench.

The darkness retreated and formed into Hika again. The fallen stare began coughing and wheezing from the smell in disgust. "Did you just-"

Something struck him. Maui, in giant hawk form, doubled back for another blow. Hika snapped at him, but Maui was too fast, flying between the star's snapping jaws. He flew up into the sky before dive-bombing onto Hika's head.

"Yes!" Moana cheered as she watched the two battle. Maui was certainly doing better than he had during their battle out on the ocean. This was likely because Hika had caught him off guard the first time around, and Maui hadn't had any experience fighting a star before. It could also be that Hika was slowly growing weaker with the more of Te Kā's power he unleashed.

Hika seemed to realize this as well, and was becoming increasingly annoyed at his inability to take down the demigod. "You can only play this game of hit and run for so long, Maui. No matter how great of a warrior you are, you can't defeat a star."

Several tendrils of darkness shot out of his body. Maui maneuvered around them, becoming human and slashing at others with his hook when he needed to. He let out an eagle screech as he flew at Hika's head, but the star ducked beneath him. "You're shape-shifting skills are useless, Maui. Nothing you turn into can truly harm me."

There was a  _splat_  as a white blob splattered over Hika's snout, and the star's eye sockets widened in disbelief. Up above, Maui chuckled as best as he could as a hawk.

There was a bellow of rage from Hika, and he activated his gravity pull. Moana grabbed hold of a tree as the suction pulled her while Pua and Wapapalu found their own cover. Heihei, who was still buried in the sand, was sucked towards the star, and Moana made a grab for the string tied to his leg as he flew by, reeling him in.

Maui was unable to resist the pull of gravity, and was sucked towards Hika. He used it to his advantage as he transformed into an elephant and slammed into the star. The impact seemed to cause Hika to lose his form, and the mass of darkness rose up around Maui. It formed a giant tentacle of darkness that grabbed him, lifted him high into the air, and slammed him down.

Groaning, Maui returned to human form and got up. If he weren't a demigod, that impact would have killed him. It was a good thing Hika wasn't allowed to do that, but he knew that if the star really went all out that even he would be dead already. "Ok, big guy, lets see how you like this."

He transformed, becoming a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Hika's body reformed, and he roared at the dinosaur. Maui roared back and charged at the star, even though he was still only a tenth of Hika's size.

Hika swiped at him, and Maui was knocked to the ground and pinned there. He took a bite out of Hika's limb, but only ended up biting through shadow and vapor. Hika began dragging him across the beach, and Maui broke free by turning into a cheetah, and ran down the length of the Hika's limb. He leapt forward, turning into a narwhale, his long horn stabbing into Hika's torso.

The star roared and knocked Maui away. This time, however, a bright light shined from the puncture wound where Maui had impaled him, just as it did from his mouth and eye sockets. It didn't last long though as the darkness moved to cover it once more, closing up the wound.

Having been knocked away, it didn't seem that Maui had noticed what had happened. Moana did though, and she ran out and over to the demigod's side. "Maui, you ok?"

He changed back to human, looking a little worse for wear. "Doing fine, kid. Just running him down."

If the situation weren't so dire, she would have rolled her eyes. "Did you see what happened there?"

Hika lashed out at them, and Maui grabbed Moana and jumped away. "Sorry, I m missed it. What'd I miss?"

"It seems that when you attack his head or limbs that nothing happens, the darkness just shifts around. But when you stabbed him in the chest, this light shined out of the wound for a few seconds."

Maui jumped away with her again as Hika fired a plasma beam. "Makes sense," he said, setting her down. "That's not Hika's true form; it's just the darkness shaping itself into a body. His real body is inside, consumed by Te Kā's darkness."

"Then you need to attack that," Moana guessed.

Maui hesitated. What she had said seemed obvious. However, it was not so simply. The plan had originally been to use Polaris' light to eliminate the darkness surrounding the star until only Hika remained. He well remembered Polaris' warning of what would happen if he destroyed the darkness at its source. The backlash of power that would erupt would be catastrophic; it might even destroy the entire island.

"But… if I do that," he muttered, "then…"

Before he could finish, he was knocked off his feet by Hika, who had become a mass of darkness again. Moana called his name as he was carried off. Hika dragged him across the beach, leaving a deep groove in the sand, before heading for the trees. Maui grunted in pain as trees snapped against his back as Hika dragged him through the forest.

When it seemed as of they had travelled through the entire forest, they ended up back on the beach. Hika brought Maui high into the sky, then came back down, and Maui hit the ground hard enough to create a large crater. Hika finally released him and reformed, roaring down at the demigod.

Moana's hands went to her mouth as she gasped in horror. That had been bad, really bad. Maui looked like he was really hurt. She wanted to do something to help him, but what? What could she, a mere mortal, do to a star?

' _Something,'_  her mind shouted.  _'Anything.'_

A tug at her dress caused her to look down, and she saw Wapapalu standing beside her. He said something she didn't understand in his language and waved his boomerang, motioning towards the battle. Moana may not have understood his words, but she did understand what he wanted. "Are you sure?"

Wapapalu replied with more gibberish, and Moana nodded.

A distance away, Maui was dragging himself out of his crater. He was hurting badly. It seemed as if Hika was getting serious. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up before his body gave out. Despite his determination, and refusal to quit, what he had known from the beginning was now becoming apparent; he was no match for Hika.

"Yes," the star growled, sounding pleased. "That's it; you're beginning to accept it. You have no chance. You've failed."

Breathing heavily, Maui looked up at the star. "I haven't failed yet. I'm still standing."

Hika chuckled as he watched the demigod stumble. "You may be willing to keep fighting, but in your heart you know it's futile. It won't be long before you collapse, and then not even your willingness to continue, despite the inevitable outcome, will allow you to keep up the fight." He moved his face closer. "Can you feel it? The same loss Te Kā felt when you took what she most desired? The despair she felt knowing that the world she created and loved would die because of her own darkness? Do you feel it?"

Maui swiped his hook at the star, and Hika drew back. Using his hook to support himself, Maui puffed out his chest. "Like I said, I'm still standing."

There was more snickering from the star. "No matter. You'll collapse soon enough, and then the girl will die, and you'll be unable to stop it." He raised a limb. "This will end it. You won't be getting up again."

The demigod's eyes narrowed. "Try me."

Hika roared and swiped at him. That was when Moana made her move. Using Heihei's string, she had wrapped it around Wapapalu to create a makeshift bola. Swinging him around, she let him fly, and he soared through the air.

He landed on Hika's face, right in front of his eyes, just as Hika's limb struck Maui. The distraction caused the blow to go off target, allowing Maui to block with his hook, though he was still knocked down. Hika shook his head, trying to shake Wapapalu off, but the Kakamora held on tight with one hand. His other clung to his boomerang, and he took aim, throwing it into Hika's right eye socket.

The light coming from Hika's eye socket flickered briefly. The star roared loudly and broke down into a shapeless mass again. Wapapalu dropped to the ground, and immediately took off running. Hika reformed and snarled viciously as he looked around for the Kakamora. He spotted him running away, and stalked after him, firing a beam of plasma that Wapapalu jumped aside to avoid.

Moana had used the distraction to run to Maui's side. He was still on the ground from where he had been knocked down, and she placed his arm over her shoulders, attempting to help him to his feet.

"Come on, Maui, we have to go. Turn into a flea or something and go hide until you've recovered a bit. He won't kill me just yet."

Maui managed to balance on his feet and removed his arm from her. "There's no hiding from a star; he'll find me no matter what form I take or where I hide. Even if I could, he's too strong; I can't beat him, and he knows I know it. Make no mistake, he's ready to kill you."

Hika's attention shifted back to them, and his eye sockets narrowed at seeing Maui on his feet again. "Stubborn demigod."

He began stalking over to the two of them. Moana looked up at the star worriedly, but refused to leave Maui's side. "So what now?"

Maui stared at the approaching star and realized that there really was no other choice. "Kid, I'm sorry I got you into this mess."

Moana shook her head. "It's not your fault, Maui."

He wobbled his head back and forth. "Eh, it kind of is. Indirectly." He looked at her. "Did Hika tell you why you're here?"

Despite the situation, Moana blushed, and was unable to meet the demigod's eyes. "He… um… Well, he… uh… um… Yeah, he kind of did…"

Maui smirked at her. "Kind of ironic. Usually it's everyone else that falls for me. But what can I say? I'm Maui."

Moana opened her mouth to say something. She wasn't sure what, but she didn't have a chance as Maui suddenly wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her in close, and kissed her. Moana's eyes widened in astonishment. Despite what Hika had told her, she had been too busy thinking of a way to escape to consider what he said to wonder if it was really true. But if there was ever any indication that what the star had said was the truth, this was it.

Hika came to a stop in front of them and loomed above the two. "How sweet. At least you got a chance to express your feelings before the end."

Ignoring the star, Maui broke the kiss, still wearing his trademark. He chuckled at the dreamy expression on her face. "Never thought I'd get to see you with that look." He gave her a salute. "See you on the other side, kid."

He turned into a hawk, and flew up to Hika. Moana called his name, but he ignored her. Hika snapped at him, but missed as Maui did a loop in the air, changed back into a human, and slammed his hook down on top of the star's head.

Turning back into a hawk, he flew away from Hika. The star roared and followed after him. They flew straight up, heading higher and higher into the sky, putting distance between them and Moana. Hika fired a plasma beam, and it skimmed over Maui's wing. The hawk screeched, and suddenly doubled back. He circled around Hika's head a few times, deliberately annoying the star, then flew above him once more. Hika roared up at him, and Maui dive-bombed down into Hika's open maw.

A tunnel of darkness filled with light greeted him as he flew down the star's gullet. As he flew down, he couldn't help but notice how the face of Te Kā was plastered all over the interior of the tunnel. The faces hissed at him, as if they had a life of their own, but Maui ignored them as he continued onward, the light growing in intensity the further down he went.

Then he saw it, the source of the light, the real Hika, covered in darkness. Like some parasite trying to consume its host, the darkness blotched out the light of the star, the way a dark cloud covered the sun, only allowing small opens from which the light still shined through as the darkness swirled around the source.

Maui changed back into a human and let gravity do the rest as he dropped towards the source and raised his hook. The darkness shifted, and the face of Te Kā appeared before Maui.

"Hey, Te Kā," he shouted at the demon's face, "wish not granted!"

The face hissed at him as Maui brought his hook down with all his might.

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Moana watched from the beach as Maui had led Hika up into the sky. They had flown so high up that the demigod appeared as nothing more than a tiny speck. Her stomach dropped as Hika roared up at him, and it appeared that Maui had deliberately flown straight down into the star's mouth.

"MAUI!" she shouted, even though she knew her voice would not be heard.

Several long seconds that felt like an eternity passed. Then, suddenly, there was an eruption of light that burst from Hika's body. His dark form vanished within it and seemed to evaporate. The force of the blast expanded outward, flowing over the island. The shockwave sent Moana flying, and she suddenly hit the water.

Feeling dazed, she swam for the surface. Taking a breath, she looked around, and saw that she was far out into the ocean. The island itself was still there, but had taken damage from the shockwave. It looked as if every tree on the island had either been knocked down or completely torn from the ground, and the rock formations had completely crumbled.

"Maui," Moana exclaimed, and began swimming back towards the island.

The ocean came to her aid, taking hold of her and dragging her back to the island. She was deposited on the beach, and a few seconds later, a second blob of water splashed beside her as her companions were dropped onto the beach as well. Wapapalu and Pua appeared to be shaken up while Heihei looked completely clueless.

"Are you guys ok?" she asked. She received no answer from the first two, but Heihei simply  _bawked_. That was good enough for Moana, and she began looking around. "Where's Maui?"

A short distance away, something hit the ground. Moana gasped and immediately ran to it, whispering Maui's name under her breath. She stopped short when she reached the crash sight. The object that had fallen was Maui's hook. It was broken in half, both pieces blackened and burnt to charcoal. There was no sign of the demigod anywhere.

Moana dropped to her knees in despair. If that blast had done this to Maui's hook, she couldn't imagine what it must have done to him. Not even a demigod could survive something like that.

"Oh, Maui," she whispered tearfully. She picked up the two pieces of the hook; it was much lighter now. Her fingers dug into the blackened charcoal, and a chunk broke off in her hand. A choked sob escaped her at that, and she hugged the broken hook to herself.

Wapapalu, Pua, and Heihei came up to her. Heihei seemed baffled by the situation, but Pua seemed to understand what had happened. Even Wapapalu let out a sad murmur that sounded a lot like "M'i."

Tears ran down Moana's cheeks, and she didn't even bother to try and stop them as she clung to the broken hook. "Give him back. Give him back to me. I want him back."

She hugged the hook a little too tightly, and it crumbled apart in her arms. She tried desperately to grab at the pieces, but there was nothing to hold onto as it broke down into a pile of ash.

"It's not fair," she cried. "He did it for them. Everything he ever did was for them, even the mistakes he made, he did it for everyone. He just wanted love." She buried her hands in the ashes, and let it slide through her fingers. "That's all he wanted. He could have… I could have… We could have…"

Through her tear-filled blurry vision, she became aware of a light shining down. It grew brighter and brighter as it got closer, and she finally looked up. Coming down to her was a little man that seemed to be made of fire. Its body seemed to be a flicker of flame that was upside-down, shaping out stubby arms and legs. A fireball made up its head, and seemed to form facial features.

The creature looked familiar to Wapapalu. It looked almost just like Polaris, only it was much smaller, about five inches tall, and the head was the appropriate size for its body. It was also red instead of white, and its light wasn't as strong.

Coming to a stop in front of Moana, the creature gave her a sad look. "I still have a wish to grant."

Moana stared at the creature in confusion. "What?"

"Maui is gone. I can no longer grant Te Kā's wish to take what he loves most."

"Wish?" Moana repeated, trying to make sense of the situation through her grief. "Hika?"

The star bowed his head slightly. "I was still caught though, and thus am obligated to grant a wish. I can not got to Te Kā, so another must do it."

"Make a wish?" Moana repeated, trying to pull herself together. "I can have a wish?"

"You must act fast," the star told her, as his body flickered like a candle flame about to burn out. "Without Te Kā's power, I have very little time left. Whatever you wish, if it is in my power, I shall grant it. But beware, for it will come true."

Moana stared at him for several long moments. Her gaze shifted to the pile of ashes in front of her, and she looked back at the star. "There's only one thing I want. Maui. Give him back to me."

A small smile grazed the star's face, and he raised his arms. "Granted."

His little body burst into a shower of golden sparks, causing Moana to jump in surprise. The sparks swirled around, seeming to increase in number. The ashes began to rise up, mixing with the sparkles, and began swirling around together. Light began to shine as the sparkles and ashes came together, forcing Moana to look away due to its intensity.

She could no longer see due to the brightness, but there was a loud  _crack_ , and the light vanished. When she looked back, she saw Maui standing in front of her, looking completely baffled; he even had his hook!

"What just happened?" he muttered in confusion.

"MAUI!" Moana jumped up and threw her arms around him. "You're alive!" she shouted happily.

Maui still seemed to be in a state of shock. "I am…? Oh, I am." His arms slowly came up to hug her back. "I don't understand. I was on the other side, and then… How'd I get back here?"

Moana broke the hug, but still kept hold of him, as if she were afraid he would disappear if she let go. There were still tears in her eyes, but now they were happy tears. "It was Hika. He couldn't grant Te Kā's wish anymore, but he said he still had one to grant. So he gave it to me."

Maui stared at her. "And you wished me back?" You could have wished for anything, anything at all, yet you wished for me."

She let out a happy half-sob, half-chuckle. "There was nothing else I wanted."

Her brow furrowed as if she suddenly realized something, and she punched him. Her fist all but bounced off his muscular chest, and he gave her a confused look. "What was that for?"

"What do you think?" she snapped, now sounding angry, and began raining punches against his chest. "How could you sacrifice yourself like that? Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?" She began grabbing handfuls of sand and throwing them at him. "How was I supposed to live with that? How was I supposed to live without you? You stupid, selfish, egotistical…"

He had ignored the punches, but now he held his hands up to block the sand. "Hey, cut it out! I did it because it was the only way to save you."

"And you think I wanted you to save me at the cost of your own life? You're such a self-righteous, chauvinistic, jerk!"

He caught her arms to stop her from throwing any more sand at him, and even then she struggled to keep fighting. "Hey, calm down. I just wanted to… to… whoa…"

He looked disorientated for a moment, and Moana's anger shifted to concern. "Maui? What's wrong? Are you ok?"

He nodded. "Yeah, that was weird. I felt kind of funny for a second."

"Funny how?"

"Well, not funny. Just… different. Almost like… like…"

He started patting his body down, a look of deep concentration on his face. Then he seemed to figure out what the problem was, and his eyes widened. "Aging?"

Moana gave him a confused look. "What?"

"I'm aging. I can feel it. It's like a barely noticeable tickle in the back of my mind that's easy to overlook, but it is there; I can feel it if I concentrate."

Moana blinked, not understanding. "What do you mean? You can't feel yourself aging."

"Maybe you can't, but if you spend thousands of years never getting older, you'd notice it too once it started happening. Kind of like noticing your heart beating after having exerted yourself, or breathing heavily after having held your breath, or blinking after having a staring contest."

What he was implying finally registered to Moana. "But wait, you're a demigod. You don't age. Not past your prime."

Maui examined himself. Then his gaze shifted to the starry sky. "Hika. So that explains it."

"Explains what?"

He looked back at her. "I told you before that I wasn't born a demigod. The gods made me one after they took me in." He looked at his hands. "Seems that when Hika brought me back, it was without the gods' divine blessing that made me a demigod. My eternal life is gone. I'm not a demigod anymore. I'm-"

"Mortal," Moana finished, suddenly looking horrified. "You're mortal." She grasped her head, panicking for him. "Oh, Maui, I'm so sorry. This is all my fault."

He raised an eyebrow at that. "How is this your fault?"

"I screwed up the wish. I should have taken your demigod status into account when I wished. Now you're just a regular human."

He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Whoa, kid, calm down. There's no need to freak out."

She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for forgiveness. "But you're not a demigod anymore. Now you-"

"Still get another chance at life? Won't have to always feel like I'm stuck in place as everyone and everything moves on around me while I get left behind? Won't have t watch those I care about age and die while I remain the same?"

She stared. She hadn't exactly considered those things. "You mean… you're not upset?"

He let her go. "Well, eternal life may have had its perks, but it also had many drawbacks. In many ways, it's a blessing, but it's also a curse. And trust me, I've lived a  _long_  time as a demigod. To be honest, I kind of wanted to give the whole mortal thing a try." He smirked. "Besides, I'm lucky I got to come back at all, even with a mortal lifespan. And being mortal also opens up so many opportunities for me. Maybe I could…"

He hesitated as he seemed to realize that he was saying too much. His gaze shifted to Moana, and she was looking at him strangely now. Expectantly? Hopefully?

"Um…" he muttered, trying to find the right words. "I mean… Maybe I could… Maybe you and I could… Maybe we could…"

"Yes?" she asked encouragingly, brushing aside a lock of her hair in a way he found to be completely adorable.

But as she brushed her hair aside, his gaze landed on the tattoo on her arm, and he gasped in realization. "Mini-Maui!"

He looked down at his chest at the sentient tattoo. The moment he and Moana had been having vanished as she turned her attention to Mini-Maui as well, now looking equally as worried. Maui's tattoos had been bestowed upon him by the gods to represent his great deeds. They had no idea what his return to mortal status would have on them. Or, more particularly, on their little friend.

On Maui's chest, the little tattoo was in his default position of holding up the sky. Neither he nor any of the other tattoos moved or were animated in any way. They looked, for all intents and purposes, just like any old tattoos.

"Mini-Maui," Maui called to him. He slapped at his chest, getting no reaction. "Mini-Maui, speak to me, little buddy. Move. Do something!"

"Maui…" Moana said quietly, her own voice beginning to crack.

He shook his head. "No, he can't be. He's a part of me, and I'm alive. So he should be too. Come on, pal."

But there was nothing from the tattoo. Maui's head dropped, and he closed his head in dismay. Moana felt tears resurface in her own eyes for his loss. She too was very fond of the little tattoo, but had nowhere near the type of bond that Maui had with him. She looked at the unmoving tattoo, silently pleading for forgiveness for not considering him in her wish. But as she looked at the little tattoo, she saw the unmistakable sight of Mini-Maui's mouth twitching, as if he were struggling not to laugh.

"Hey, wait a minute!" she exclaimed, and poked the tattoo. "You're faking it, aren't you?"

Maui's eyes snapped open, and he looked down at his chest. Mini-Maui dropped the act and began silently laughing. Maui's sorrow quickly gave way to anger and outrage. "You little punk! I can't believe you did that!"

Mini-Maui stuck out his tongue and twiddled his fingers at the side of his head. Then he made a 'follow me' motion and walked around Maui's body until he reached the area where Maui was depicted as being struck down by Te Kā. The tattoos shifted to make room for more, and an image of Hika's monstrous form appeared, along with another image of Maui facing him down.

Moana gave a relieved laugh. "I guess that's still the same."

Maui was scowling. "I almost regret it now. Little jerk."

Mini-Maui just waved this off, then looked up at Maui in an almost expectant way. The former demigod raised a questioning eyebrow, not sure what the sentient tattoo wanted from him. "What?"

Mini-Maui smacked his forehead in aggravation. He marched over to Mini-Moana and grabbed her hand, then motioned to the real Moana. Maui looked at her, and she at him. She began playing with her hair nervously, and Maui rubbed the back of his head in discomfort.

"Yeah, um, right…" he muttered. "Um, Moana, I… uh…"

Mini-Maui slapped his forehead again and grasped Mini-Moana's shoulders before kissing her, then motioned to the real Moana again.

"I got this," Maui whispered to him, before looking bashfully at Moana. Her cheeks were red, and she had a shy smile on her face. He too was feeling embarrassed at the moment. He wasn't entirely sure why, he'd never been shy around women before, and he was very close to Moana. Then again, she was no ordinary girl, and this wasn't some brief fling.

"So, yeah, about that…" he mumbled, referring to the kiss. "I kind of, maybe, you know… There's no hiding the truth from a star, um, especially one guided by a wish… And they don't lie… So, uh, I guess I kind of maybe do, um, you know…"

He was struggling to find the right words, and Moana found it adorable. For all his power and many talents, he still had trouble talking about his feelings. But as cute as it was to watch him struggle, she decided to give him an out. Besides, after all this time of keeping her own feelings in check, now that they actually had a chance to be together, she was feeling a little overeager.

Leaning in, she gave him a quick kiss, effectively shutting him up. "Well, maybe I do, you know, too."

Now it was Maui's turn to stare. He seemed to recover quickly though as, now that the hard part was over, he returned to his usually cocky self, giving her a knowing smirk. "Yeah, I know."

She raised an eyebrow. "You know?"

"Of course I know. I'm Maui. Everyone does eventually. Even you."

She rolled her eyes. "If you say so," she mumbled, even though she was smiling. She searched for something else to say. This was new ground for her, and she wasn't sure what to do or say next. "So… what now?"

On his chest, Mini-Maui silently cheered before scooping up Mini-Moana bridal style. A hut popped up next to them, and Mini-Maui carried her inside. The hut began moving up and down as little hearts floated out of it. A few seconds later, Mini-Maui and Mini-Moana exited the hut with children.

Maui quickly slapped a hand over his chest to hide the image, blushing horribly. Looking uncomfortable, he glanced at Moana. She had seen the display, and her entire face had turned bright red in response.

"Um…" Maui muttered, not sure there was anything he could say to get rid of the awkwardness. "I think we could take things slower than that."

"Yeah," Moana agreed, a little too quickly, "we have plenty of time. No need to rush anything. Um… I guess we can start by telling everyone back home."

"Right," Maui agreed, "that'd be a good start. I think they might already know though. I already got your grandmother's blessing, and I think I have your parents'."

Moana smirked. "As if they have a say. I'm chieftess, remember?"

He nodded. "Yes, yes, you certainly are. And just wait until they hear how you single-handedly stood up to a star."

There was the clearing of a throat, and they looked down to see Wapapalu, Pua, and Heihei standing beside them. Wapapalu had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot, having been the one to clear his throat.

Moana smiled and knelt down beside him. "Of course, we had a lot of help from you guys. Thanks."

Wapapalu began thrusting his fists in the air as he let out a cheer. Maui just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I guess he was somewhat useful."

The Kakamora growled. Grabbing a shell, he threw it at Maui's head.

"Ow!" Maui cried, putting his hand to the spot he had been hit. "What was that for?"

Wapapalu began yammering in his language, shaking his finger at the former demigod. Maui growled and bent down, getting right in Wapapalu's face. The Kakamora pressed his own face against Maui's and growled back.

Moana sighed. "I thought you guys had become friends."

"What made you think that?" Maui asked, as Wapapalu asked the same thing in his language.

Rolling her eyes, Moana glanced at Pua and Heihei, shaking her head, even as an amused smile crept up her face. Heihei just  _bawked_  and began wandering off, heading right for the ocean. Moana stepped on his string to stop him from walking into the waves. Pua let out a happy squeal and ran over to the rooster's side, then looked back at Moana and gave an encouraging squeal.

"I think Pua and Heihei are ready to go home," she said.

Maui turned away from Wapapalu. "Good call, drumsticks, pork chops. I told your parents we'd meet them at the colony's next destination. Lets hit the waves."

Moana was in full agreement, but she saw one problem. "Um, Maui…"

"What's up?" Then he noticed the problem. "Oh…"

The boat he had come here on was completely smashed from the burst of power from Hika's body erupting. There was absolutely no salvaging it. Maui then glanced at the forest that had once covered the island, but all the trees seemed to have been destroyed from the blast as well.

"Well, no problem," he said uncaringly. "We'll just improvise."

Moana raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

He smirked. "Demigod or no, I'm still Maui."

He grabbed his hook and transformed into a giant hawk. Moana's face lit up as she realized what he was suggesting. Minutes later, they were flying in the sky. Moana sat on Maui's back with Wapapalu in her lap. Pua and Heihei were being carried in Maui's talons, the former squealing fearfully while the latter continued to look clueless.

A laugh of delight escaped Moana, and Maui to let out his own joyful screech as she held her arms out, feeling as if she herself were flying as they soared out over the ocean and into the dawn's morning light.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (A/N: I always hate writing those last two words. You really get attached to these stories; they're almost like your babies. But we've all got to move on at some point. I hope you all enjoyed my story. I must admit, I was very reluctant to have Maui be the one to save the day, as I was afraid it would almost make Moana into a damsel in distress, which was the last thing I wanted. That's why I gave her a fighting role as well, and had her be the one to save Maui. But I felt that this was sort of Maui's mess to clean up, which was why I had him be the one to defeat Hika. And with that, the mistake he had made over 1,000 years ago has finally been corrected. Now he can actually have a chance at life and receive the love he had been searching for several millennia. So, if you enjoyed this story, I hope you'll check out my other ones, and any more I'll write in the future. I know I said this before, but I do plan to write a "Zootopia" story. Not right away, but eventually. So if you liked this one, keep an eye out for that one. For now, it's your last chance to review, so hit that button and tell me what you think. Peace out.)


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